MARTIN  VAN  BUREN'S 


CALUMNIES  REPUDIATED. 


HAMILTON'S  CONDUCT 


AS   SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY 


VINDICATED 


JAMES    A.  HAMILTO>r 


NEW  YORK: 
CHAJiLEb  iSCRIBNKR  &  CO.,  654  BROADWAY. 

1870. 


lEx  ICtbrta 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


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AVI  KY  AKCIII  I  l,(  ri  KM.  AND  l"lNI-;  ARTS  LliiKAkV 
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MARTIN  VAN  BTJREN'S 


CALUMNIES  REPUDIATED. 


HAMILTON'S  CONDUCT 


AS   SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY 


VINDICATED. 


JAMES   A.  HAMILTON. 

:V^^iZ)  L  /h^^  ^^^^ 


NEW  YORK: 
CHARLES  SCRIBXER  &  CO.,  654  BROADWAY. 
%  1870. 


6ox 


THE  TROW  &  SMITH 

BOOK.    MANUFACTURING  COMPANY, 

205,  207,  209,  211  &  213  E.  12tli  St. 


MAETm  YAN  BUEEX'S  CALUMNIES  EEPUDIATED. 


Hi^MILTO^vT'S  CONDXJCT 

AS    SECRETARY    OF    THE    TREASURY,  VINDICATED. 


INQUIRY 

Into  the  Origin  and  Coiorse  of.  Political  Parties  in  the  United 
States,  hy  the  late  ex-President  Martin  Van  Buren.  1867. 

We  do  not  intend  to  review  this  work,  but  to  refer  to  sncli 
parts  of  it  as  charge  Alexander  Hamilton  with  having  (p.  203) 
leen  faithless  to  one  of  the  most  sacred  trusts  that  can  le placed 
i7i  manP  P.  214  :  ''^Hamilton  did  more  than  any  one — /  had 
almost  said,  than  all  his  contemporaries — to  counteract  the  will 
of  the  people,  and  to  subvert,  hy  undermining^  the  Constitution 
of  their  choice^  P.  215:  Hamilton'^s  course  vxts  an  outrage 
upon  liberty  and  a  crime  against  free  government^  It  is  assert- 
ed (p.  234)  "  of  the  great  crisis  in  our  national  affairs,  the 
fourth  crisis  of  onr  Government  was  Hamilton's  attempt  to" 
make  of  the  Government  which  had  been  established  under  it " 
(the  Constitution)  "  ct  delusion,  and  the  Constitution  a  sham,  to 
pave  the  way  for  its  overthrow.'^''    (The  italics  are  ours.) 

It  is  remarkable  that  a  gentleman,  who,  as  Senator,  Yice- 
President,  and  President  of  the  United  States,  had  become 
familiar  with  the  legislation  of  the  nation,  the  messages  of  its 
Presidents,  and  the  published  letters  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  shoidd 
have  made  such  statements,  when  that  legislation,  'those  docu- 
ments and  letters,  establish  the  fact  that  some,  if  not  all,  the 
measures  referred  to  were  sanctioned  as  well  by  Congress  again 
and  again,  as  by  President^  Washington,  Jcfterson,  Madison, 


4 


HA^HLTOX  VINDICATED. 


Monroe,  and  others,  as  will  appear  by  the  following  examina- 
tion. 

It  is  undeniable  that  Hamilton,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasnry, 
urged  upon  Congress  the  adoption,  1st,  of  a  Bank  of  the  United 
States;  2d,  the  assumption  of  the  debts  of  the  States  incurred 
in  the  prosecution  of  the  War  of  Independence  ;  3d,  a  Funding 
system  ;  and,  4th,  the  protection  of  Domestic  Manufactures ; 
that  laws  were  passed  by  the  first  Congress  under  the  Constitu- 
tion, to  carry  into  effect  these  measures,  and  approved  by  Presi- 
dent Washington.  See  vol.  ii..  Laws  of  U.  S.,  Protection^  pp.  2, 
176  ;  Assumption^  pp.  123,  127,  174;  Funding  System^  pp.  123, 
186  ;  Banlc,  pp.  194,  200. 

Van  Buren  (p.  171)  says :  "  I  have  already  spoken  of  the 
extent  to  which  the  public  mind  was  excited  by  Hamilton's 
measures.  Large  portions  of  the  people  regarded  the  most 
prominent  among  them  as  violations  of  the  Constitution."  He 
does  not  refer  to  any  evidence  on  which  these  assertions  are 
founded.  We  now  produce  conclusive  proof  that  they  are  un- 
true. 

Mr.  Jefferson  (Secretary  of  State  when  these  measures  were 
adopted),  in  a  letter  to  William  Carmichael,  dated  Philadelphia, 
May  17th,  1791,  says  :  "The  term  of  the  first  Congress  expired 
on  the  3d  instant.  They  separated  on  that  day,  much  important 
business  being  necessarily  postponed.  New  elections  have  taken 
place  for  the  most  part,  and  very  few  changes  made.  This  is 
one  of  many  proofs  that  the  proceedings  of  the  new  Government 
have  given  general  satisfaction." 

Mr.  Jefferson  to  Fulwar  Skepwith,  Philadelj^hia,  May  13th, 
1791 :  "  In  general,  our  affairs  are  proceeding  in  a  trahi  of  un- 
])aralleled  prosperity.  This  arises  from  the  real  improvements 
in  our  Government ;  from  the  unbounded  confidencG  reposed  in 
it  Ijy  tlie  people  ;  their  zeal  to  support  it,  and  their  conviction 
that  a  solid  union  is  the  best  rock  of  their  safety  ; "  ^>  *  * 
"  from  the  favorable  seasons,  and  from  the  growth  of  industry, 
economy,  and  domestic  manufactures  ;  so  that  I  believe  I  may 
Bay  with  truth,  that  there  is  not  a  nation  under  the  sun  enjoying 
more  ])resent  prosperity,  nor  with  more  in  prospect." 

The  same  to  Colonel  Humphries,  July  13th,  1791 :  "  Our 
Bank  was  filled  with  subscriptions  the  moment  it  was  opened. 
Eight  millions  of  dollars  was  the  whole  permitted  to  be  sub- 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


5 


scribed,  of  wliicli  two  millions  were  deposited  in  cash,  the  resi- 
due in  public  paper.  Every  other  symptom  is  equally  favorable 
to  our  credit." 

Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  April  6th,  1790:  "The 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  having,  by  order  of  Congress,  re- 
ported plans  for  funding  both  our  foreign  and  domestic  debts, 
they  thought  it  necessary,  by  a  recoinmitment,  to  subject  that 
part  of  it  which  concerned  the  domestic  debt  to  maturer  discus- 
sion ;  but  the  clause  for  making  such  adequate  provision  for  ful- 
filling our  engagements  in  respect  to  ovir  foreign  debt  was  not 
recommitted,  because  not  susceptible  of  any  abridgment  or  modi- 
fication ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  passed  without  a  dissenting 
voice,  and  only  waits  till  the  residue  of  that  system  of  which  it 
makes  a  part  can  be  digested  and  pnt  into  the  form  of  a  law\  I 
send  you  a  copy  of  the  resolution." 

Thus  we  are  informed  by  the  highest  authority  (Mr.  Jefter- 
son)  that  the  Funding  System  was  adopted  without  a  dissenting 
voice. 

Jefferson  to  Short,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  59,  60,  July  26th,  1790: 
"Congress  has  paosed  an  Act  for  establishing  the  seat  of  Gov- 
ernment at  Georgetown  from  tlie  year  1800."  (It  was  passed 
July  16th,  1790.)'  ^  ^  ^  They  have  still  before  them  the 
bill  for  funding  the  public  debts,  that  has  hitherto  been  delayed 
by  a  question  whether  the  debts  contracted  by  the  particular 
States  for  general  purposes  should  at  once  be  assumed  by  the 
General  Government.  A  development  of  circumstances  and 
more  mature  consideration  seem  to  have  produced  some  changes 
of  opinion  on  the  subject.  When  it  was  first  proposed,  a  major- 
ity was  against  it.  There  is  reason  to  believe,  by  the  complexion 
of  some  latter  votes,  that  the  majority  w^ill  now^  be  for  assuming 
these  debts  at  a  fixed  amount — twenty-one  millions  of  dollars 
proposed.  As  soon  as  this  point  is  settled,  the  Funding  Bill  will 
pass."  The  Assumption  Bill  was  passed  August  4th,  1790. 
The  Act  establishing  the  Funding  System  appointing  commis- 
sioners was  passed  August  12th,  1790.  Particular  reference  is 
made  to  the  dates  of  the  approval  of  the  two  last  Acts  in  connec- 
tion with  another  part  of  Mr.  Yan  Buren's  treatise. 

These  letters  clearly  contradict  the  statement  made  by  Yan 
Bureu,  p.  171 :  "  I  have  already  spoken  to  some  extent  to  which 
the  public  mind  was  excited  by  Hamilton's  measures.  Large 


6 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


portions  of  the  people  regarded  the  most  prominent  among  them 
as  violations  of  the  Constitution."  If  it  be  true  that  the  public 
mind  was  so  excited,  it  must  have  been  known  to  Mr.  Jefferson  ; 
and  that  excitement  would  have  produced  a  change  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  second  Congress.  Whereas  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  his  let- 
ter to  Carmichael,  March  Tth,  1791,  before  referred  to,  declares  : 
"  New  elections  have  taken  j^lace  for  the  most  part,  and  very  few 
changes  made.  This  is  one  of  the  many  proofs  that  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  new  Government  have  given  general  satisfaction." 
It  is  possible,  but  highly  improbable,  that  Yan  Buren  should  not 
have  read  these  and  the  other  letters  to  which  we  have  referred. 
Mr.  Jefferson,  in  these  letters,  not  only  approves  what  had  been 
done,  but  avers  that  the  people,  by  their  elections,  did  the  same. 

We  now  proceed  with  the  examination  of  the  charges  against 
Hamilton.  First,  "  The  Protective  SystemJ^  Yan  Buren,  p. 
159,  referring  to  Hamilton's  Report  on  Manufactures,  says :  "  Its 
bold  assumptions  of  power,  and  the  jubilant  spirit  in  which  they 
were  expressed,  afforded  the  clearest  indications  as  well  to  his 
opponents  and  to  the  country  that  he  regarded  his  mctory  over 
the  Constitution  as  completer  (The  italics  are  ours.)  The 
report  is  dated  on  the  9th,  and  was  communicated  to  the  House 
of  Eepresentatives  on  the  14th  January,  1790 — before  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's letters  above  quoted  were  written. 

In  this  connection  it  is  important  to  refer  to  the  second  Act 
passed  hj  Congre^s^  and  approved  by  Washington,  on  the  20th 
July,  1789,  for  laying  duties  on  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise 
imported  into  the  United  States.  The  recital  to  this  Act  is  as 
follows  :  "  Whereas  it  is  necessary  for  the  support  of  Govern- 
ment, for  the  discharge  of  the  debts  of  the  United  States,  aiid 
the  encouragement  and i)rotection  of  manufactures^  that  duties  be 
levied  on  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise  imported,'^  &c.  The 
discussion  of  this  Act,  which  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Madison, 
began  in  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the  8th  April,  and 
ended  May  16th,  1789 — ayes  41,  nays  8.  The  question  of  the 
constitutional  power  was  only  once  referred  to,  and  by  Mr.  Mad- 
ison, who  said  :  "  When  these  States  retained  the  power  of  mak- 
ing regulations  of  trade,  they  liad  the  power  to  protect  and  cher- 
ish such  institutions.  By  adopting  the  present  Constitution, 
they  have  tlirown  the  exercise  of  this  power  into  other  hands. 
They  must  have  done  this  with  an  expectation  that  these  inter 
ests  would  not  have  been  neglected." 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


7 


Mr.  Yan  Biiren  refers  to  Mr.  Madison's  efforts  to  pass  this 
Act  /  lie,  however,  does  not  quote  or  refer  to  the  preamble,  or  to 
this  part  of  the  discussion.  This  omission  as  to  the  preamble 
could  not  have  been  the  result  of  ignorance.  What  was  it, 
then  ?    The  discussion  he  may  not  have  read. 

The  Act  establishing  the  Treasury  Department  was  approved 
on  the  10th  September,  1789  ;  and  Hamilfon  was  not,  when  this 
protective  Act  was  passed,  a  member  of  the  Government. 

On  the  10th  August,  1790,  another  Act  was  passed.  The 
preamble  refers  to  the  Act  of  20th  July,  1789,  and  states  that 
"  divers  duties  were  laid  on  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise  so 
imported,  for  the  discharge  of  the  debts  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  encouragement  and  protection  of  manufactures.'^'^  The 
duties  were  increased  by  this  Act.  Washington,  in  his  first 
annual  Message,  January  8,  1790,  says  :  "  The  safety  and  inter- 
est of  the  people  require  that  they  should  promote  such  manu- 
factures  as  tend  to  render  them  independent  of  others  for  essen- 
tials, particularly  for  military  supplies."  And  the  House  of 
Representatives  passed  a  resolution  in  these  words  :  "  That  it  be 
referred  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  propose  and  report 
to  this  House  a  proper  plan  or  plans,  conformably  to  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  President  in  his  speech  to  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress, for  the  encouragement  and  promotion  of  such  manufac- 
tures as  will  tend  to  render  the  United  States  independent  of 
other  natioiis  for  essential,  particularly  for  military,  supplies." 

If  Hamilton  had  any  doubts  as  to  the  true  interpretation  of 
the  Constitution  as  to  protective  duties — which  he  certainly  had 
not — this  action  of  Congress  and  the  President  would  have  sanc- 
tioned his  course  on  that  subject.  His  Eeport  on  Manufactures 
was  communicated  to  the  House  of  Representatives  December 
oth,  1791,  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  after  these  two  ^protective 
Acts  were  passed  by  Congress  and  approved  by  the  President, 
with  the  open  or  silent  approbation  of  his  Cabinet ;  Jefferson, 
Secretary  of  State.  Washington,  in  his  Message,  December  7th5 
1796,  refers  to  the  exercise  of  this  power  by  Congress,  in  these 
words  :  "  Congress  have  repeatedly^  and  not  without  success, 
directed  their  attention  to  the  encouragement  of  manufactures. 
The  object  is  of  too  much  consequence  not  to  insure  a  continu- 
ance of  their  efforts  in  every  way  which  shall  appear  eligible." 
The  power  under  the  Constitution  to  sustain  such  a  system  was 


8 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


not  questioned  in  tlie  legislative  or  executive  departments,  nor 
bj  Mr.  Jefferson  in  his  letters  to  liis  friends.  On  the  contrary, 
in  the  letters  quoted  above,  he  not  only  approves  what  had  been 
done,  but  avers  that  the  people,  by  their  elections,  had  done  the 
same. 

Jefferson,  in  his  eighth  annual  Message,  November  8th,  1808, 
says :  "  The  extent  of  this  conversion  is  daily  increasing,  and 
little  doubt  remains  that  the  establishments  formed,  and  forming 
(internal  manufactures),  will,  under  the  auspices  of  cheaper  ma- 
terials, &c.,  and  of  protective  duties  and  prohibition,  become 
permanent." 

Mr.  Madison,  in  his  inaugural  address,  4th  March,  1809,  re- 
ferring to  the  purposes  and  the  principles  which  he  brought  with 
him  into  this  arduous  service  as  President,  enumerates  what 
ought  to  be  the  principles  and  measures  of  our  Government ; 
and,  among  others,  "  to  promote,  by  authorized  means,  improve- 
ments friendly  to  agriculture,  to  manufactures^  and  to  external 
as  well  as  to  internal  commerce."  Here  we  have  the  authority 
of  this  distinguished  man  that  the  United  States  Government, 
under  the  Constitution,  had  the  power  to  take  measures  to  im- 
prove our  agriculture,  our  manufactures^  and,  by  roads  and 
canals,  to  promote  improvements  in  our  internal  commerce. 

Madison,  in  his  Message,  May  23d,  1809,  advises,  in  the 
revision  of  our  commercial  laws,  "  to  make  such  further  altera- 
tions in  the  laws  "  (those  of  1790  included)  "  as  will  more  espe- 
cially protect  and  foster  the  several  branches  of  manufactures 
which  have  been  recently  instituted  and  extended  by  the  laud- 
able exertions  of  our  citizens."  Madison's  second  annual  Mes- 
sage, December  5th,  1810,  refers  to  the  advantageous  results  of 
protection.  His  third  annual  Message,  November  5th,  1811 : 
The  just  and  sound  policy  of  securing  to  our  manufacturers  the 
success  they  have  attained."  Madison,  by  a  special  Message, 
December  23d,  1811,  suggests  to  Congress  "  the  propriety  and 
advantages  of  a  general  system  of  internal  communication  by 
canals."  Madison,  special  Message,  March  31st,  1814:  "I 
recommend,  also,  as  a  more  cft'cctual  safeguard  and  encourage- 
ment to  our  growing  manufactures,  that  the  additional  duties  on 
imports  be  prolonged."  Madison,  seventh  annual  Message,  De- 
cember 5th,  1815:  "In  adjusting  the  duties  on  imi)orts  to  the 
object  of  revenue,  the  influence  of  tlie  tariff"  on  manufactures 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


9 


will  necessarily  present  itself  for  consideration."  He  also  calls 
the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  great  impoitance  of  establishing 
throughout  our  country  the  roads  and  canals  which  can  best  be 
executed  under  national  authority.  This  is  an  extension  of 
power  far  beyond  any  one  Hamilton  proposed.  Madison's  eighth 
annual  Message,  December  3d,  1816  :  "  Protect  our  mannfactur- 
ino;  establishments." 

Monroe's  hiaugural,  March  15th,  1817  :  "  Our  manufacturers 
find  a  generous  encouragement  by  the  policy  which  patronizes 
domestic  industry."  "  Our  manufacturers  will  likewise  require 
the  systematic  and  fostering  care  of  the  Government."  -s^-  *  * 
"It  is  important,  too,  that  the  capital  which  nourishes  our  manu- 
factures should  be  domestic."  "  Equally  important  is  it  to  pro- 
vide a  home  market  for  our  raw  materials  ;  as,  by  extending  the 
competition,  it  will  enhance  the  price  and  protect  the  cultivator 
against  the  casualties  incident  to  foreign  markets."  Monroe's 
first  annual  Message,  December  2d,  181T :  "  Our  manufactures 
will  require  the  continued  attention  of  Congress."  *  *  * 
".By  their  promotion,  wliich  depends  on  due  encouragement,  is 
connected  the  higii  interest  of  the  nation." 

Monroe's  second  annual  Message,  IS'ovember  17th,  1818 : 
"  The  Act  of  April  30th,  amending  our  Collection  laws,  has,  it  is 
presumed,  secured  to  domestic  manufactures  all  the  relief  that 
can  be  derived  from  the  duties  which  have  been  imposed  upon 
foreign  merchandise  for  their  protection."  Monroe's  third  an- 
nual Message,  December  7th,  1819  :  "  It  is  deemed  of  great 
importance  to  give  encouragement  to  our  domestic  manufac- 
tures." Monroe's  fifth  annual  Message,  December  3d,  1821 : 
"  It  may  fairly  be  presumed  that,  under  the  protection  given  to 
domestic  manufactures,  we  shall  become,  at  no  distant  period,  a 
manufacturing  country  on  an  extensive  scale."  "  By  the  in- 
crease of  domestic  manufactures  will  the  demand  for  the  rude 
material  at  home  be  increased,  and  thus  the  dependence  of  the 
several  parts  of  our  Union  on  each  other,  and  the  strength  of 
union  itself,  be  proportionately  augmented."  Monroe's  sixth 
annual  Message,  December  3d,  1822 ;  It  appears  that  our 
manufactures,  though  depressed  immediately  after  the  peace, 
have  considerably  increased  under  the  encouragement  given 
them  by  the  tariff  of  1816,  and  by  subsequent  laws." 

John  Q.  Adams,  fourth  ^nnual  Message,  December  2d,  1828, 


10 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


referring  to  the  tariff  of  the  previous  session ;  "  But  if  any  of 
tlie  duties  imposed  by  that  Act  only  relieve  the  manufacturers 
oy  aggregating  the  burthens  of  the  planter,  let  a  careful  revisal 
of  its  provisions  be  directed  to  retain  those  which  impart  protec- 
tion to  native  industry."  Protection is  the  great  jprinci^ple 
sanctioned  hj  that  Act^  upon  ichich  the  Constitution  itself  was 
formed :  /  hojpe  and  trust  the  authorities  of  the  Union  will 
adhere.''  "    The  italics  are  ours. 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  Yan  Buren  had  not  read  these 
messages  ;  and  it  is  painful  to  believe  that  a  man  who  had  been 
a  President  of  the  United  States  couldbe  guilty  of  such  per- 
versions. 

Jackson's  inaugural,  March  4th,  1829,  with  regard  to  a  proper 
selection  of  subjects  of  impost,  with  a  view  to  revenue,  says: 
"  It  seems  to  me  that  the  spirit  of  equity "  *  *  ''in 
which  the  Constitution  was  formed,  requires  that  the  great  inter- 
ests of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manifactures  should  be 
equally  favored."  Jackson's  first  annual  Message,  December 
8th,  1829  :  "  The  general  rule  in  graduating  the  duties  upon 
articles  of  foreign  growth  or  manufacture^  is  that  which  will 
place  our  own  in  fair  competition  with  those  of  other  countries." 
Again :  "  It  is  principally  as  manufactures  and  commerce  tend 
to  increase  the  value  of  agricultural  productions,  that  they  de- 
serve the  fostering  care  of  Government ; " — thus  asserting  the 
constitutional  power  to  foster  manufactures  by  protection,  and 
thus  admitting  that  it  had  been  required,  and  was  constitutional. 
Jackson's  second  Message,  December  7th,  1830  :  "  The  power  to 
impose  duties  on  imports  originally  belonged  to  the  several 
States.  The  right  to  adjust  these  duties,  with  a  view  to  the 
encouragement  of  domestic  branches  of  industry,  is  so  complete- 
ly identical  with  that  power,  that  it  is  difficult  to  sujopose  the 
existence  of  the  one  without  the  other.  The  States  have  dele- 
o-ated  their  whole  power  over  imposts  to  the  General  Govern- 
ment, without  limitation.  This  authority  having  thus  entirely 
passed  from  the  States,  the  right  to  exercise  it  for  the  purpose 
of  protection  docs  not  exist  in  them  ;  and,  consequently,  if  it  be 
not  possessed  by  the  General  Government,  it  must  be  extinct. 
This  surely  cannot  be  the  case ;  the  indispensable  power  thus 
surrendered  by  the  States  must  be  within  the  scope  of  the  au- 
thority on  the  subject  expressly  delegated  to  Congress.    In  this 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


11 


conclusion  I  am  confiiTnecl  as  well  by  the  opinions  of  tlie  Presi- 
dents Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe,  who  have 
each  repeatedly  recommended  the  exercise  of  this  right  under 
the  Constitution,  as  by  the  uniform  practice  of  Congress,  the 
continued  acquiescence  of  the  States,  and  the  general  under- 
standing of  the  people.  While  the  chief  object  of  duties  should 
be  revenue,  they  may  be  so  adjusted  as  to  encourage  mamifac- 
turesP  (The  writer  of  this  notice  of  Yan  Buren's  misrepresen- 
tations was  invited  to  Jackson's  house,  to  assist  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  Message.  He  speaks  with  entire  assurance  when  he 
asserts  that  Mr.  Yan  Buren,  being  Secretary  of  State  when  this 
Message  was  prepared,  gave  it  his  entire  approval.) 

John  Quincy  Adams'  fourth  annual  Message,  December  2d, 
1828.  Referring  to  the  Tariff  of  1828,  Protection,  he  says: 
"  To  the  great  principles  sanctioned  by  that  Act — one  of  those 
upon  which  the  Constitution  itself  was  formed — I  hope  and 
trust  the  authorities  of  the  Union  will  adhere." 

In  connection  with  this  recital  of  Jackson's  views  as  to  the 
protective  system,  it  is  not  inappropriate  to  present  the  follow- 
ing, from  the  inaugural  address  (March  4,  1837)  of  Martin  Van 
Buren,  author  of  "  The  Inquiry  "  :  "  United,  as  I  have  been,  in 
his  "  (Jackson's)  "  counsels,"  *  ^  -J^  "  agreeing  with  him  in 
sentiments  which  his  countrymen  have  warmly  supported,  I  mav 
hope  that  somewhat  of  the  same  cheering  approbation  will  be 
found  to  attend  upon  my  path."  Again,  Yan  Buren  says,  in 
that  address :  ^'  We  have  learned  by  experience  a  faithful  les- 
son, that  an  implicit  and  undeviating  adherence  to  the  principles 
on  which  we  set  out  can  carry  us  prosperously  onward  through 
all  the  conflicts  of  circumstances  and  the' vicissitudes  inseparable 
from  the  lapse  of  years." 

Surely  some  of  the  most  marked  principles  on  which  we  set 
out  were  the  enactments  of  Congress  approved  by  Washington  ; 
that  the  Constitution  sanctioned  the  protection  of  mannfacture 
by  imposts ;  the  funding  system ;  assumption  of  State  debts  ; 
and  the  United  States  Bank. 

Second.  "  The  Funding  System^  and  the  Assumption  of  the 
debts  of  the  States^  Gordon's  Digest,  p.  804 :  The  Articles  of 
Confederation  adopted  the  public  debt  contracted  before  their 
formation,  and  the  6tli  article  of  the  present  Constitution  im- 
posed on  the  United  States  fdl  debts  contracted  before  its  adop- 


12 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


tion.  To  ])rovidc  for  the  payment  of  this  debt,  and  tlius  to  sus- 
tain tlie  credit  of  the  United  States  at  home  and  abroad,  was 
one  of  the  most  powerful  inducements  to  the  existing  Union  of 
the  States."  The  funding  system  was  established  by  the  Act  of 
4th  August,  1790  (vol.  ii.,  p.  123),  first  session  of  the  first  Con- 
gress ;  and,  by  the  same  Act,  the  debts  of  the  States  were  as- 
sumed to  the  amount  of  twenty-one  millions,  as  suggested  by 
]\lr.  Jefferson.  The  recital  to  this  Act  is :  "  Whereas  justice  and 
the  support  of  public  credit  require  that  provision  should  be 
made  for  fulfilling  the  engagements  of  the  United  States  in 
respect  to  their  foreign  debt,  and  for  funding  their  domestic  debt 
upon  equitable  and  satisfactory  terms."  Section  1  provides,  that 
out  of  the  moneys  which  shall  arise  from  duties  on  goods,  wares, 
and  merchandise  imported  into  the  United  States,  the  yearly 
sum  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars,  or  so  much  as  may  be 
appropriated  from  time  to  time  for  the  support  of  Government 
and  the  common  defence,  the  residue  of  said  moneys  shall  be, 
and  is  hereby,  appropriated  to  the  payment  of  interest  on  loans 
heretofore  made  by  the  United  States  in  foreign  countries,  and 
also  to  the  payment  of  interest  on  such  further  loans  as  may  be 
obtained  for,  &c.,  &c.,  *  *  to  continue  so  appropriated 
until  said  loans^  as  well  as  those  already  made^  shall  he  fidly 
satisfied.  By  section  2,  the  President  is  authorized  to  borrow 
twelve  millions,  and  to  cause  to  be  made  such  other  contracts 
respecting  said  debt  as  shall  be  found  to  the  interest  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  provided  that  no  contract  shall  be  entered  into  which 
shall  preclude  the  United  States  from  reimbursing  any  sum  or 
sums  borrowed  within  fifteen  years  after  the  same  shall  have 
been  lent  or  advanced. 

By  section  3,  it  is  enacted  that  a  loan  to  the  full  amount  of 
the  domestic  debt  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  proposed  for  neces- 
sary subscriptions  to  the  said  loan  (to  be  opened  at  the  Treasury, 
&c.) ;  and  that  the  oum  which  shall  be  subscribed  thereto  be 
payable  in  certificates  issued  for  said  debt  according  to  their  spe- 
cie value.  Other  sections  ])rovide  the  means  of  carrying  out 
said  loan.  Section  4  provides  that,  for  the  whole  or  any  part  of 
any  sum  subscribed  to  said  loan  by  any  person,  which  shall  be 
paid  in  the  principal  of  the  said  domestic  debt,  the  subscriber 
shall  be  entitled  to  a  certificate  purporting  that  the  United  States 
owe  to  the  holder  thereof,  or  his  assigns,  a  sum  to  be  expressed 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


13 


therein.  The  5th,  6th,  7th,  8th,  9th,  10th,  11th,  and  12th  sec- 
tions prescribe  details  to  effect  the  arrangements  and  the  interest 
on  certihcates  paid,  and  when  the  United  States  may  pay  the 
same.  Then  fulloAvs  this  recital :  "  And  whereas  a  provision  for 
the  debts  of  the  respective  States,  by  the  United  States,  would 
be  greatly  conducive  to  an  orderly,  economical,  and  effectual 
arrangement  of  the  public  finances,"  it  was  further  enacted,  sec- 
tion 13,  "  that  a  loan  be  proposed  to  the  amount  of  twenty-one 
millions  and  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  that  subscrip- 
tions to  said  loan  be  received  at  the  same  time  and  places,  and 
by  the  same  persons,  as  in  respect  to  the  previous  loans ;  and 
that  the  sum  which  shall  be  subscribed  to  the  said  loan  shall  be 
paid  in  the  principal  and  interest  of  certificates  and  notes  which, 
prior  to  the  1st  January  last,  were  issued  by  the  respective  States 
as  evidences  of  debts  by  them  respectively^"  The  Act  then 
goes  on  to  declare,  that  no  greater  sum  shall  be  received  in  the 
certificates  of  any  State  than  as  follows :  New  Hampshire, 
$300,000  ;  Massachusetts,  $4,000,000  ;  Ehode  Island,  $200,000  ; 
Connecticut,  $1,600,000  ;  New  York,  $1,200,000  ;  New  Jersey, 
$800,000 ;  Pennsylvania,  $2,200,000  ;  Delaware,  $200,000  ; 
Maryland,  $800,000;  Virginia,  $3,500,000;  North  Carolina, 
$2,400,000;  South  Carolina,  $4,000,000;  Georgia,  $300,000. 
Provided  that  no  such  certificates  shall  be  received  which 
•X-  *  *  shall  appear  to  have  been  issued  for  any  other  purpose 
than  compensations  and  expenditures  for  services  or  supplies  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  late  war  (the  War  of  Independence).  The 
14th,  15th,  16th,  17th,  18th,  and  19tli  sections  provide  details. 
The  20th  section  provides  "  that  the  moneys  arising  from  the 
revenue  laws,  which  have  been,  or  during  the  present  session  of 
Congress  may  be,  passed,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  neces- 
sary, shall  he,  and  are  herehj,  pledged  and  appropriated  for  the 
payment  of  the  interest  on  the  stoch  lohich  shall  he  created  hy  the 
loans  aforesaid,  to  continue  so  pledged  and  appropriated  until  the 
Unal  redemption  of  said  stoch,  any  law  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. And  to  the  end  that  the  said  moneys  may  he  inviola- 
hly  applied  in  conformity  to  this  Act,  and  may  never  he  diverted 
to  any  other  purpose,  an  account  shall  he  Jcept  of  the  receipts,  and 
description  thereof,  separate  and  distinct  from  any  other  duties^ 
The  21st  section  pledges  the  faith  of  the  United  States  to 
provide  and  appropriate  such  additional  and  permanent  funds  as 
may  be  requisite  to  supply  any  deficiency. 


HAMILTON  YDsDICATED. 


Tlie  22d  section  declares  that  tlie  proceeds  of  the  sales  of 
tlie  public  lands  sliall  be,  and  are  hereby,  appropriated  toward 
sinking  or  discharging  the  debts  (of  the  United  States),  and 
shall  be  appropriated  solely  to  that  use  until  the  debts  shall  be 
fully  satisfied.  See  the  Act  passed  August  5tli,  1790,  vol.  ii., 
pp.  1-4,  to  provide  more  effectually  for  the  settlement  of  the 
accounts  between  the  United  States  and  individual  States.  It  is 
to  be  remarked,  that  all  claims  assumed  by  the  United  States  are 
such  as  shall  have  accrued  for  the  general  or  particular  defence 
during  the  War  of  Independence. 

The  Act  passed  August  12ih,  1790,  chap.  47,  vol.  ii.,  p.  186, 
is  emphatically  that  which  establishes  the  funding  system  most 
effectually,  and  to  which  is  to  be  attributed  the  merit  of  having 
paid  off  the  debts  of  the  United  States  contracted  to  sustain  the 
War  of  Independence  and  the  wars  with  Great  Britain  and 
Mexico. 

Section  1.  That  all  such  surplus  of  the  product  of  the  duties 
on  goods,  &:c.,  imported,  as  shall  remain  after  satisfying  the  sev- 
eral purposes  for  which  appropriation  shall  have  been  made  by 
law  to  the  end  of  the  present  session,  shall  be  applied  to  the  pur- 
chase of  the  debt  of  the  United  States  at  its  market  price,  if  not 
exceeding  the  par  or  true  value  thereof.  Section  2.  That  the 
purchases  to  be  made  of  the  said  debt  shall  be  made  under  the 
direction  of  the  President  of  the  Senate,  the  Chief  Justice,  the 
Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  Attor- 
ney-General for  the  time  being,  or  any  three  of  them,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  They  shall 
cause  the  said  purchases  to  be  made  in  such  manner  and  under 
such  regulations  as  shall  appear  to  them  best  calculated  to  fulfil 
the  intent  of  this  Act,  provided  that  the  same  be  made  openly, 
and  with  due  regard  to  the  equal  benefit  of  the  several  States. 
These  commissioners  were  required  to  report,  within  the  first 
fourteen  days  of  each  session,  of  purchases  made  under  their 
direction,  specifying  the  times  thereof,  the  prices  at  which,  and 
the  parties  from  whom,  the  same  shall  be  made. 

On  the  8tli  May,  1792,  another  funding  Act  was  passed.  By 
the  9th  section  of  the  Act  passed  March  3d,  1795,  it  was  pro- 
vided that  the  moneys  which  shall  accrue  to  the  said  sinking 
fund  shall  be,  and  are  hereby,  declared  io  he  vested  in  the  soid 
coniiaissioners^  in  trusty  to  he  applied  io  the  reimhursement  and 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


15 


redemplion  of  said  debt.  And  the  faith  of  the  United  States  is 
hereby  pledged^  that  the  money  and  fund  shall  inviolably  remain 
and  be  appropriated  and  vested  as  aforesaid,  to  be  applied  to  the 
said  reimbursement  and  redemption  in  manner  aforesaid,  until 
the  same  shall  be  fully  and  completely  effected. 

Hamilton  resigned  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on 
the  31st  January,  1795. 

"Washington's  answer  to  his  letter,  dated  February  2d,  1795, 
is  in  these  words  : 

Dear  Sir  :  After  so  long  an  experience  of  your  public  ser- 
vices, I  am  naturally  led,  at  this  moment  of  your  departure  from 
office — which  it  has  always  been  my  wish  to  prevent — to  review 
them. 

"  In  every  relation  which  3^ou  have  borne  to  me,  I  have 
found  that  my  confidence  in  your  talents,  exertions,  and  integ- 
rity has  been  well  placed. 

' I  the  more  freely  render  this  testimony  ot  my  approbation, 
because  I  speak  from  opportunities  of  information  which  cannot 
deceive  me,  and  Avhich  furnish  satisfactory  proof  of  your  title  to 
public  regard.  My  most  earnest  wishes  for  your  happiness  will 
attend  you  in  your  retirement,  and  you  may  assure  yourself  of 
the  sincere  esteem,  regard,  and  friendship  of, 

Pear  sir,  your  affectionate  G.  AYashington." 

Another  assumption  Act  was  passed  on  the  19th  February, 
1795  ;  on  the  26th  April,  1796,  another  funding  Act  wa^s  passed ; 
and  on  the  31st  May,  1796,  another  Act  reenforcing  the  funding 
system. 

By  an  Act  passed  29th  April,  1802,  $7,300,000  were  annu- 
ally appropriated  to  the  sinking  fund.  By  an  Act  passed  31st 
May,  1806,  the  sinking  fund  was  reorganized.  These  Acts  were 
approved  by  President  Jefferson.  In  his  first  annual  Message, 
he  says,  referring  to  Hamilton's  system  of  finance  :  "  Among  the 
vaymentSy  those  made  in  discharge  of  the  national  debt  will  show 
that  the  public  faith  has  been  exactly  maintained.'^'' 

It  cannot  be  necessary  to  go  further  into  the  examination  of 
the  action  of  the  Government,  w^ith  the  assent  of  every  Presi- 
dent, except  J.  Adams,  Sr.,  from  its  commencement  down  to 
and  including  the  presidcnci;  of  Andrew  Jackson,  that  the  pro- 


16 


HA^kHLTON  VmDICATED. 


tection  of  domestic  manufactures,  the  assumption  hj  the  United 
States  of  the  debts  of  the  States,  and  the  approval  of  the  fund- 
ing system,  were  not  only  constitutional  exercises  of  power,  but 
most  salutary  measures. 

Before  leaving  this  particular  subject,  we  must  refer  to  the 
course  of  Mr.  Jefferson  more  particularly  in  regard  to  the  fund- 
ing system. 

Mr.  Gallatin,  appointed  Seci'ctary  of  the  Treasury  by  Presi- 
dent Jefferson,  in  his  first  report,  approved  the  funding  system 
established  under  Hamilton's  administration  of  the  Treasury,  in 
these  words :  "  That  the  actual  revenues  of  the  Union  are  suffi- 
cient to  defray  all  the  expenses,  civil  and  military,  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, to  the  extent  authorized  by  existing  laws,  to  meet  all 
the  engagements  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  discharge,  in  fifteen  and  a  half  (15^)  years,  the  whole  of  our 
public  debt."  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  relation  to  that  report,  addressed 
a  letter  to  Mr.  Gallatin,  saying :  "  I  have  read  and  considered 
3'our  report  on  the  o])eration  of  the  sinking  fund,  and  entirely 
approve  it  as  the  best  plan  on  which  we  can  set  out."  See  Jef- 
ferson's Writings,  by  Ilandolp>h,  vol.  iii.,  p.  488. 

By  the  Acts  passed  14th  March,  1812,  8th  February,  1813, 
2d  August,  1813,  24th  March,  1814,  3d  March,  1815,  loans  were 
authorized,  the  payment  of  which  were  charged  on  the  sinking 
fund.  By  the  Act  of  3d  March,  1817,  an  annual  appropriation 
of  ten  million  dollars  was  vested  in  the  commissioners  of  the 
sinking  fund.  All  these  Acts  were  approved  by  President 
Madison. 

The  Acts  passed  May  15th,  1820,  March  3d,  1821,  17th 
April,  1822,  and  26th  May,  1824,  authorized  principal  and  inter- 
est to  be  charged  to  the  sinking  fund.  These  Acts  were  approved 
by  President  Monroe. 

Madison,  in  liis  seventh  annual  Message,  dated  December 
5th,  1815,  advises  assumption  of  State  debts,  thus :  "  There  will 
probably  be  some  addition  to  the  public  debt  upon  the  liquida- 
tion of  various  claims  which  are  depending ;  and  a  conciliatory 
disposition  on  the  part  of  Congress  may  lead  honorably  and  ad- 
vantageously to  an  equitable  arrangement  of  the  militia  expenses 
incurred  by  the  several  States  without  the  previous  sanction  or 
authority  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States."  This  was 
the  assumption  of  State  debts ;  and  thus  a  clear  and  explicit 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


IT 


approval  of  Hamilton's  system  was  given,  not  only  as  expedient^ 
but  as  constitutional. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Madison,  dated  Paris,  March 
15tli,  1789  (vol.  ii.,  p.  444),  referring  to  the  Constitution  to  be 
settled  in  France,  says  :  "  Besides  settling  for  themselves  a  toler- 
ably free  Constitution,  they  will  fund  their  debt ;  this  will  give 
them  such  a  credit  as  will  enable  them  to  borrow  any  money 
they  may  want."  Again,  in  a  letter  to  Colonel  Humphries,. 
March  18,  1789,  vol.  ii.,  p.  449,  he  says,  referring  to  France  : 
"  The  consolidation  and  funding  their  debts  will  give  Govern- 
ment a  credit  which  w^ill  enable  them  to  do  what  they  please." 

See  p.  101,  same  vol.,  letter  to  La  Fayette :  "  I  wish  you  suc- 
cess in  your  meeting"  (in  1787,  in  Paris,  to  form  a  Constitution). 
"  Keeping  the  good  model  of  your  neighboring  country  "  (Great 
Britain)  "  before  your  eyes,  you  may  get  on,  step  by  step,  toward 
a  good  Constitution.  You  see  haw  we  republicans  are  apt  to 
preach  when  we  get  on  politics." 

This  proof  of  Jefferson's  approval  of  a  funding  system  is 
important,  although  it  does  not  meet  the  constitutional  question 
as  an  answer  to  much  he  wrote  to  "Washington,  and  others^ 
against  the  system  itself. 

Mr.  Jefferson  w^as  President  of  the  United  States  from  tlie 
4th  March,  1801,  to  that  day  in  1809. 

On  the  29th  April,  1802,  Congress  passed  an  Act,  by  which 
seven  millions  were  appropriated  to  the  sinking  fund,  and  direc- 
tions given  to  the  commissioners  for  its  application  to  the  pay- 
ment of  the  debt.  This  Act  was  approved  by  President  Jeffer- 
son. Surely,  if  it  was  unconstitutional,  as  he  had  before  assert- 
ed, his  duty  required  him  to  have  returned  the  Act  with  his 
veto. 

Jefferson,  in  his  first  annual  Message  (see  Presidents'  Mes- 
sages," p.  98),  says  :  "  Among  the  payments,  those  made  in  dis- 
charge of  the  principal  and  interest  of  the  national  debt  will 
show  that  the  public  faith  has  been  exactly  maintained." 

In  his  second  annual  Message  (p.  104),  referring  to  the  rules 
of  action  which  ought  to  govern  Congress,  he  says :  "  To  foster 
our  fisheries  as-  nurseries  of  navio-ation  and  for  the  nurture  ot 
men,  und protect  the  mamifactures  adapted  to  our  circumstances 
— to  keep  all  things  within  the  pale  of  our  constitutional  power, 
and  cherish  tlie  Federal  Uniojik  as  the  only  rock  of  safety — these,. 
2 


18 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


fellow-citizens,  are  the  landmarks  by  whicli  we  are  to  guide  our- 
selves in  all  our  proceedings.  By  continuing  to  make  these  the 
rules  of  our  action,  we  shall  endear  to  our  countrymen  the  true 
principles  of  our  Constitution." 

Surely,  if  the  laws  of  Congress,  passed  during  Washiugton's 
administration  by  Hamilton's  advice,  to  establish  a  fanding  sys- 
tem, to  assume  the  debts  of  the  States  for  the  protection  of 
manufactures,  and  to  establish  a  United  States  Bank,  were  such 
violations  of  the  Constitution  as  to  justify  Yan  Biu-en's  charges 
against  Hamilton,  Mr.  Jefferson  could  not  have  written  the 
words  I  have  italicized. 

In  Jefferson's  third  annual  Message,  pp.  107,  108,  he  says : 
"  Should  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  be  constitutionally  con- 
firmed and  carried  into  effect,  a  sum  of  nearly  thirteen  millions 
of  dollars  will  be  added  to  om^  public  debt,  most  of  which  is 
payable  after  fifteen  years  ;  before  which  time  the  present  exist- 
ing debts  will  all  be  discharged  by  the  established  operation  of 
the  sinking  fund." 

In  1806,  Jefferson  President,  an  Act  was  approved,  by  which 
a  sum  of  money  was  passed  to  the  credit  of  the  siiiking  fund. 
During  Madison's  administration,  14th  March,  1812,  an  Act  was 
approved  by  him,  authorizing  a  loan  of  eleven  millions,  the  pay- 
ment of  which  was  charged  to  the  sinldng  fund. 

8tli  February,  1813,  an  Act,  approved  by  Madison,  authoriz- 
ing a  loan  for  sixteen  millions  (one  hundred  dollars  in  stock  was 
given  for  eighty-eight  dollars  in  money),  principal  and  interest 
charged  to  the  sinMng  fund. 

2d  August,  1813,  an  Act,  approved  by  Madison,  authorizing 
a  loan  of  $7,500,000,  principal  and  interest  charged  to  the  siiik- 
ing fund. 

24:tli  March,  1811,  an  Act,  approved  by  Madison,  authoriz- 
ing a  loan  for  twenty-five  millions,  sold  at  eighty  per  cent.,  by 
w^hich  a  deposit  of  §15,001,818  was  created,  charged  to  the 
sinking  fund. 

2d  March,  1815,  an  Act,  approved  by  Madison,  principal 
and  interest  charged  to  the  sinkijig  fund. 

These  several  Acts,  passed  by  Congresses  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  approved  by  the  two  great  leaders  of  that  party,  Averc 
such  a  sanction  of  the  constitutionality  of  the  sinking  fund  sys- 
tem as  should  have  satisfied  Mr.  Yan  Burcn  that  Hamilton  had 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


19 


not,  in  recommending  that  system,  violated  the  Constitution  and 
a  sacred  trust.'' 

Yan  Buren  frequently  intimates  that  Hamilton's  funding 
system  was  drawn  from  that  of  Great  Britain.  P.  140,  he 
says  :  The  funding  system,  as  pi'esented  to  Congress  hy  him,  as 
well  as  the  lanJc,  were  not  only  on  the  English  plan,  hict,  as  far 
as  that  could  consistently  he  effected,  were  copies  of  the  origincdsP 

The  assertion  contained  in  the  words  I  have  italicized  is  a 
palpahle  misrepresentation  ;  I  believe  I  might  say,  a  wilful  one. 
Assuming  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  could  not  be  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  the  English  funding  system  was  presented  to  Parliament  by 
Mr.  Pitt,  on  the  29tli  of  March,  1786;  whereas  Hamilton,  on 
the  16th  day  of  December,  Vl'^^—four  years  lefore  Pitt's  fund- 
ing system  was  proposed  or  adopted — presented  to  the  Congress, 
under  the  confederation  of  which  he  was  a  member  from  ITew 
York,  the  following  resolution,  which  was  adopted  December 
16th,  1782  : 

"  'Whereas^  it  is  essential  to  justice  and  the  preservation  of 
public  credit,  that,  whenever  a  nation  is  obliged,  by  the  exigen- 
cies of  public  affairs,  to  contract  a  debt,  proper  funds  should  be 
established,  not  only  for  paying  the  annual  value  or  interest  of 
the  same,  but  for  discharging  the  principal  within  a  reasonable 
period,  by  which  a  nation  may  avoid  the  evils  of  an  excessive 
accumulation  of  debt ;  therefore 

"  Resolved,  That  whenever  the  net  proceeds  of  any  funds 
recommended  by  Congress,  and  granted  by  the  States,  for  fund- 
ii]g  the  debt  already  contracted,  or  for  procuring  farther  loans 
for  the  support  of  the  war,  shall  exceed  the  sum  requisite  for 
paying  the  interest  of  the  whole  amount  of  the  national  debt 
which  these  States  may  owe  at  the  termination  of  the  present 
war,  the  surplus  of  such  grants  shall  form  a  sinking  find,  and 
be  inviolably  appropriated  to  the  payment  of  the  principal  ot 
the  said  debt,  and  shall  on  no  account  be  diverted  to  any  other 
purpose."    See    Hamilton's  Works,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  212. 

Mr.  Yan  Buren  (p.  408)  says :  The  difference  between  the 
provisions  of  the  sinking  fund  first  and  now  adopted  luas  great 
indeedP  The  only  difference  we  find  in  the  laws,  after  a  care- 
ful analysis,  is  that,  in  the  latter  period  of  the  Government, 
larger  sums  were  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  commissioners 
of  the  sinking  fund,  to  be  api&lied  to  the  payment  of  the  debts. 


20 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


In  1790,  the  means  of  the  Government  were  so  limited  that  the 
appropriation  of  six  per  cent,  for  interest,  and  two  per  cent,  to 
pay  or  purchase,  was  all  that  could  be  so  appropriated.  He  pro- 
ceeds :  "  The  grant  of  the  funds  to  the  first,  to  say  nothing  of 
their  insufficiency,  lacked  the  essential  quality  of  being  iiTevoca- 
ble,  but  was  "  (sic)    left  subject  to  the  action  of  Congress." 

We  refer  to  Hamilton's  report  to  Congress,  communicated  to 
the  House  of  Rej) resent atives,  January  14th,  1790  (see  "  Hamil- 
ton's Works,"  vol.  iii.,  pp.  1-54).  This  most  excellent  treatise 
on  public  credit  is  worthy  of  republication  at  this  period  of  our 
country's  history.  We  can  only  quote  such  parts  of  this,  and 
subsequent  reports,  as  are  necessary  to  meet  the  above  misrepre- 
sentations. 

Report  of  January  9th,  1790,  vol.  iii.,  of  "  Hamilton's 
Works,"  p.  32  ;  "  On  this  head,  the  Secretary  would  propose 
that  the  duties  on  distilled  spirits  should  be  applied,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  the  payment  of  the  interest  on  the  foreign  debt, 
which  amounted  to  §11,710,378.02  ;  that,  reserving  otit  of  the 
residue  of  these  duties  an  annual  sum  of  §600,000,  for  the  cur- 
rent service  of  the  United  States,  the  surplus,  together  with  the 
product  of  other  duties,  to  be  applied  to  the  interest  on  the  new 
loan  by  an  appropriation  co-extensive  with  the  extinction  of  the 
debt."  P.  41 :  "  Persuaded,  as  the  Secretary  is,  that  the  proper 
funding  of  the  present  debt  will  render  it  a  national  blessing, 
yet  he  is  so  far  from  acceding  to  the  position  in  the  latitude  in 
which  it  is  sometimes  laid  down,  that  public  debts  are  public 
blessings,  that  he  ardently  wishes  to  see  it  incorporated  as  a  fim- 
damental  maxim  in  the  system  of  public  debt  of  the  United 
States,  that  the  creation  of  debt  should  always  be  accompanied 
with  the  means  of  extinguishment.  Tliis  he  regards  as  the  true 
security  for  rendering  public  credit  immortal,  and  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  a  situation  in  which  there  may  not  be  an  adher- 
ence to  this  maxim  "  He  expresses  his  unfeigned  solicitude 
that  this  may  be  attempted  by  the  United  States,  and  that  they 
may  commence  their  measures  for  the  cstablisliment  of  credit 
with  the  observance  of  it ;  "  and  that,  "  upon  the  due  observ- 
ance of  the  maxims  that  uphohl  public  credit  at  the  present  crit- 
ical juncture,  materially  depeiuls  the  individual  and  aggn^gate 
prosperity  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  their  relief  from 
the  embarrassment  they  now  experience ;  their  cliaj'acter  as  a 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


21 


people ;  the  cause  of  good  government."  *  *  "  If  the 
maintenance  of  public  credit,  then,  be  so  truly  important,  the 
iiext  inquiry  that  suggests  itself  is.  By  what  means  is  it  to  be 
effected  ?  The  ready  answer  is,  By  good  faith ;  by  a  punctual 
performance  of  contracts."  He  then  points  out  the  individual 
and  public  advantages  which  must  necessarily  result,  by  a  proper 
and  adequate  provision,  at  the  present  period  (1790),  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  public  credit.  TV^e  now  propose,  as  concisely  as  pos- 
sible, to  state  what  that  system  was,  and  by  what  laws  it  was 
secured.    We  quote  : 

First.  ^'  To  constitute  a  fund  sufficient,  in  every  supposable 
event,  for  extinguishing  the  whole  of  the  present  debt  of  the 
United  States  in  a  period  not  exceeding  thirty  (30)  years." 

Second.  "  To  fix  its  destination  'Unchangeably^  hy  not  only 
aj)propriating  it  permanen  tly  under  the  direction  of  commission- 
ers^ and  vesting  it  in  them  as  property  in  trust,  hut  hy  making 
its  faith  fid  application  a  part  of  the  contract  with  the  cred- 
itors?^ 

As  to  the  first  point :  "  Let  it  be  enacted  that  the  present 
tonnage  and  import  duties,  or  as  large  an  amount  thereof  as  will 
be  sufficient  to  pay  the  interest  and  one  per  cent,  of  the  princi- 
pal of  the  public  debt  existing  at  the  time  of  its  enactment,  or 
as  may  be  incuj-red  by  the  rebellion,  shall  be  continued  till  the 
debts  and  purposes  for  which  they  are  appropriated  shall  be  sat- 
isfied ;  reserving,  however,  a  right  to  Congress  to  substitute  other 
duties  or  taxes  of  equal  value."  See  Act  of  Congress,  August 
10th,  1790. 

As  to  the  second  point :  "  The  intent  is  to  secure,  by  all  the 
sanctions  of  which  the  subject  is  susceptible,  an  inviolable  appli-' 
eation  of  the  fund  according  to  its  destination.  No  expedients 
more  powerful  can  be  devised  for  this  purpose,  than  to  clothe  it 
with  the  character  of  private  property,  and  to  engage  absolutely 
the  faith  of  the  Government,  by  making  the  application  of  it  to 
the  object  apart  of  the  contract  with  the  creditors?"^ 

"  That  the  fund  so  appropriated  shall  be  vested  in  commis- 
sioners, to  consist  of  the  Yice-President  of  the  United  States,  or 
President  of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives, the  Chief  Justice,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  for  the  time  being,  in 
trust,  to  be  applied  by  theu-^  or  any  three  of  them,  to  the  dis- 


22 


HAMILTON  YIXDICATED. 


charge  of  tlic  existing  debt,  either  by  purchase  of  stock  in 
market,  or  by  payment  on  account  of  principal,  as  shall  ap- 
pear to  them  most  advisable,  in  conformity  to  public  engage- 
ments ;  to  continue  so  vested  until  the  -whole  of  the  debt  be 
discharged."  This  simple  and  comprehensive  system  was  estab- 
lished with  the  sanction  of  Washington,  and  adopted  by  every 
successive  Administration  to  1848.  (During  this  period,  thirty 
Acts  were  passed  recognizing  the  ma:rim,  that  the  creation  of 
debt  should  always  be  accompanied  with  means  of  its  extinguish- 
ment.") 

It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the  fund  arising  from  the  interest  of 
the  debt  so  purchased  or  redeemed  was  commonly  called  the  pro- 
gressive force  of  the  sinking  fund."  Jt  is  an  ajnthmeticcd  trxiih^ 
that  a  fund,  equal  to  (yne^er  cent,  of  any  amount  of  debt  so  set 
apart  and  applied  to  the  purchase  or  payment  of  that  delt^  with 
the  interest  on  the  part  so  redeemed,  unll  extinguish  the  whole  in 
a  period  of  thirty  four  years. 

By  the  9th  section  of  the  Act  passed  3d  March,  1795,  it  was 
declared  "that,  as  well  the  money  which  shall  accrue  to  the  sink- 
ing fund  by  this  Act,  and  previous  Acts,  shall,  under  the  direc- 
tion and  management  of  the  commissioners  of  the  sinking  fund, 
and  their  successors  in  office,  be,  and  continue,  appropriated  to 
the  said  fund,  until  the  whole  of  the  debt  of  the  United  States  " 
^'  4f  u  be  reimbursed  and  redeemed,  and  shall  be,  and 
are  hereby,  declared  to  Ido  vested  in  the  said  commissioners,  in 
trust,  to  be  applied  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  the 
8th  day  of  August,  1792,  and  of  this  Act,  to  the  reimbursement 
and  redemption  of  the  said  debt,  until  tlie  same  shall  be  fully 
reimbursed  and  redeemed." 

In  Hamilton's  report,  January  23d,  1792,  vol.  iii.,  p.  29G,  he 
says :  "  It  is  therefore  submitted  that  it  be  adopted  as  a  princi- 
ple, that  all  interest  which  shall  cease  to  be  payable,  by  purchase 
or  payment  of  tlie  principal,  shall  be  set  a2)art  and  apj^ropriated, 
in  the  most  sure  and  inviolable  manner,  as  a  fund  for  sinking  the 
public  debt  by  purchase  or  payment ;  and  the  said  fund  be 
placed  under  the  direction  of  the  officers  "  (also  named),  "  to  be 
applied  toward  the  purchase  of  the  said  debt,  until  the  annual 
produce  of  said  fund  shall  amount  to  two  per  cent,  of  tlie  entire 
portion  of  the  debt  which  ])ears  a  present  interest  of  six  per 
cent.,  and  thenceforth  to  be  applied  toward  the  redemption  of 
that  portion  of  the  debt,  according  to  the  right  which  has  been 


IIxUIILTOX  YIXDICATED. 


23 


reserved  to  the  Government.  It  will  deserve  tlie  consideration 
of  the  Legislature,  whether  this  fund  ought  not  to  be  so  vested 
as  to  acquire  the  nature  and  quality  of  a  proprietary  trust,  inca- 
pable of  being  diverted  without  a  violation  of  the  principles  and 
sanctions  of  property."  lie  adds  :  "  It  is  not  doubted  that  the 
progressive  development  of  the  resources  of  the  country,  and  a 
reduction  of  the  rate  of  interest  by  the  progress  of  the  public 
credit,  will  speedily  enable  the  Government  to  make  important 
additions  to  it  in  various  ways." 

In  a  report,  dated  March  16th,  1T92  (vol.  iii.,  p.  326) :  "  If  a 
loan  should  be  thought  eligible,  it  is  submitted,  as  most  advis- 
able, to  accompany  it  with  a  provision  sufficient  not  only  to  pay 
the  interest,  but  to  discharge  the  principal  within  a  short  period." 
Ao:ain  :  From  the  most  careful  view  which  he  is  able  to  take 
of  all  the  circumstances  at  the  present  juncture,  he  is  led  to  con- 
clude that  the  most  eligible  mode  is  to  impose  additional  duties 
on  imported  articles."  He  adds  (p.  333):  "The  foregoing  duties 
to  be  permanently  established,  and  to  be  appropriated,  in  the 
first  place,  to  the  payment  of  the  interest  of  the  public  debt ;  in 
the  second,  to  such  other  grants  and  appropriations  as  have  been 
heretofore  made." 

By  the  Act  passed  August  10th,  1790,  it  is  declared  "  that 
the  duties  laid  by  this  Act  shall  continue  until  the  debts  and 
purposes  for  which  they  are  appropriated  shall  be  satisfied  ;  re- 
serving, ho«vever,  a  right  to  Congress  to  substitute  other  duties 
or  taxes  of  equal  value." 

An  Act  was  passed  3d  March,  1791,  which  increased  certain 
duties,  and  added,  on  others,  higher  rates  of  duties  (p.  459). 
These  duties  are  appropriated  primarily  in  the  same  manner  and 
to  the  same  purposes  as  those  laid  on  imported  articles  by  the 
Act  of  lOtli  August,  1790,  and  are  to  continue  for  the  same  time. 
Al  so,  see  the  Act  of  2d  May,  1792,  establishing  higher  duties. 
These  duties  are  conformable  with  the  Act  of  June,  1792,  See 
Act  of  8th  May,  1792  ;  this  provides  new  and  increased  duties, 
which  are  appropriated  m  the  same  manner  and  for  the  same 
^urjyoses^  and  are  to  continue  for  the  same  jperiod^  as  those  for 
which  they  are  sulstitutes  (p.  463).  See  Act  of  June,  1794 : 
"  Certain  specific  sums,  amounting  together  to  $1,292,137.38, 
are  charged  upon  the  proceeds  of  the  revenues  which  arc  created 
by  the  five  last-mentioned  Acts;  and  there  is  a  reservation  made 


24 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


out  of  tliem  of  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  tlie  interest  of  whatever 
moneys  may  be  borrowed  pursuant  to  the  Act  passed  20th 
March,  1794,  which  sum  is  pledged  for  the  payment  of  that 
interest." 

As8U7n])tionr — The  Act  passed  August  4,  1790,  authorizing 
the  assumption  of  debts  incurred  by  the  States  for  supplies  and 
services  rendered  during  the  War  of  Independence."  By  this  Act, 
the  United  States,  though  having  a  right  to  redeem  in  a  certain 
proportion,  sliould  not  be  obliged  to  do  it.  "  And  that  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  public  revenues,  which  before  that  time  had  been,  and 
during  the  then  session  should  be,  provided,  after  reserving  the 
sum  of  §600,000  for  the  expenses  of  the  Government,  the  sums 
necessary  for  the  payments  of  interest  on  the  foreign  loans  made 
and  to  be  made,  and  the  sums  necessary  for  the  payment  of  the 
interest  on  the  loan  on  the  domestic  debt,  should  be,  and  thereby 
were,  pledged  and  a})propriated,  and  to  continue  so  appropriated 
until  the  final  redemption  of  the  capital  stock."  By  these  Acts, 
and  the  reports  of  the  Secretary,  it  is  proved  that  Yan  Buren's 
statement  (p.  408),  that  the  grant  of  the  fands  to  the  first  fund- 
ing system,  to  say  nothing  of  their  insufficiency^  is  entirely  gra- 
tuitous. (The  grant  of  funds  first  made  were,  of  course,  limited 
by  the  slender  means  of  the  Government ;  but  it  is  clearly 
proved  that,  as  the  means  were  increased  by  taxation,  advised  by 
Hamilton,  that  the  sinking  fund  was  greatly  increased.)  Yan 
Buren  adds,  that  the  funds  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  debt 
lacked  the  essential  quality  of  leing  irrevocahle^  hut  was  "  {sic) 
"  left  siiljject  to  the  action  of  Congress!''^    (TJie  italics  are  ours.) 

Xo  man  of  ordinary  intelligence  and  integrity,  who  had  read 
the  Acts  referred  to  and  quoted,  could  make  such  a  statement. 
The  Act  of  1790  declares  that  the  sums  appropriated  to  the  fund- 
ing system  should  he,  and  thcrehy  icerc,  pledged  and  appropri- 
ated ;  and  to  continue  so  appropriated  until  the  final  redemp- 
tion of  the  capital  stockT    (The  italics  are  ours.) 

For  the  several  Acts  passed  by  Hamilton's  advice  during  his 
administration  of  the  Treasury,  see  Gordon's  Digest,  notes,  pp. 
804-80G.  For  these  Acts  for  the  year  1795,  prior  to  1812,  after 
1812  to  1824,  see  pp.  30G--308  ;  and  as  to  the  sinking  fund,  i)p. 
809-811.  By  the  various  Acts  passed  during  these  periods, 
whenever  the  sinking  fund  is  referred  to — which  is  repeatedly — 
there  is  no  other  system  adopted  or  referred  to  than  the  first  one 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


25 


established  under  Hamilton's  advice  ;  and  by  the  Acts  approved 
August  4th,  1790,  see  vol.  ii..  Laws  U.  S.,  p.  123,  and  the  sup- 
plementary Act  passed  May  8th,  1792,  p.  30G,  when,  Mr.  Yan 
Buren  says,  "  the  difierence  betweeu  the  provisions  of  the  sink- 
ing fund  first  and  now  adopted  was  great,''  he  intimates  that 
there  were  two  systems.  After  the  most  extended  and  careful 
examination  of  the  laws,  I  find  frequent  reference  to  the  first 
system,  and  to  no  other. 

These  laws  were  passed  not  only  during  the  administration 
of  Washington  and  Adams,  but  those  of  Jefferson  and  Madison ; 
and  thus  did  the  provisions  of  the  funding  system,  established  in 
1790  and  1792,  receive  their  approval  as  useful  and  constitu- 
tional. The  only  difference  was  in  regard  to  the  amount  of  rev- 
enue applied  to  the  sinking  fund  during  the  first  administration, 
and  that  which  the  increased  revenues,  from  supplemental  taxa- 
tion, produced. 

The  foreign  debt,  principal  and  interest,  to 

31st  December,  1789,  amounted  to  .  S11,T10,378.62 
The  domestic  debt,  principal  and  interest,  to 

31st  December,  1790,  to     .       .       .  40,414,085.94 


:  $54,124,464.56 

The  Statt)  debts  were  assumed  at  $20,500,000. 

The  interest  to  be  provided  was  assumed  to  be  (exclusive  of 
the  State  debts)  $2,239,163.09.  The  current  expenses  of  the 
year  were  estimated  at  $600,000.    Total,  $2,839,163.09. 

The  Secretary  assumes  that  this  sura,  may  be  obtained  from" 
the  present  duties  on  imports  and  tonnage,  with  certain  additions, 
which  may  be  made  on  wines,  spirits,  tea,  and  coffee.  From 
this  statement  of  the  amount  of  interest  to  be  paid  and  the 
means  provided,  it  was  not  possible  to  appropriate  a  larger 
amount  than  two  per  centum  to  the  sinking  fund. 

Banh  of  the  United  States.^^ — Yan  Buren,  p.  202  :  "  There 
was  no  warrant  in  the  Constitution  for  the  establishment  of  a 
National  Bank." 

The  Bank  of  North  America  originated  in  a  resolution  of 
Congress  of  the  26tli  May,  1781  (under  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration), founded  upon  a  proposition  of  the  Superintendent  of 


26 


UAitlLTOX  VINDICATED. 


Finance,  which  was  afterward  carried  into  effect  by  an  ordinance 
of  the  31st  December,  1781,  entitled,  "  An  Ordinance  to  Incor- 
porate the  Subscribers  of  the  Bank  of  ISTorth  America."  Ham- 
ilton's report  on  a  ISTational  Bank  was  commnnicated  to  the 
House  of  Kepresentatives,  14:th  December,  1790.  See  Hamil- 
ton's Works,  vol.  iii.,  p.  106. 

On  the  16tli  January,  1791,  Washington  addressed  a  note  to 
Hamilton,  stating  that  the  constitutionality  of  the  Bank  Act 
is  objected  to,"  and  enclosed  to  him  the  reports  on  that  point 
of  the  Attorney-G-eneral  and  the  Secretary  of  State :  "  And  I 
now  require,  in  like  manner,  yours  on  the  validity  and  propriety 
of  the  Act." 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  on  the  23d  February,  1791, 
in  a  note,  "  presents  his  respects  to  the  President,  and  sends  him 
the  opinions  required,  which  occupied  him  the  greatest  part  of 
last  night."  See  the  Argument,  vol.  iv.  Hamilton's  "Works,  pp. 
101-138.  He  says,  "  his  chief  solicitude  arises  from  a  firm  per- 
suasion that  principles  of  construction,  like  those  espoused  by 
the  Secretary  of  State  and  Attorney-General,  would  be  fatal  to 
the  just  and  indispensable  authority  of  the  United  States."  In 
entering  upon  the  argument,  it  ought  to  be  presumed  that  the 
objection  of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  Attorn ey-Generr.l  are 
founded  on  a  general  denial  of  the  authority  of  the  United 
States  to  erect  corporations.  The  latter,  indeed,  expressly  ad- 
mits, "  that,  if  there  be  any  thing  in  the  bill  which  is  not  war- 
ranted by  the  Constitution,  it  is  the  clause  of  incorporation. 
Now,  it  appears  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  that  this  gen- 
eral principle  is  inherent  in  the  very  definition  of  Government, 
and  essential  to  every  step  of  the  progress  to  be  made  by  that 
of  the  United  States  ;  namely,  that  every  power  vested  in  a 
government  is,  in  its  nature,  sovereign,  and  includes,  by  force 
of  tlie  term,  a  right  to  employ  all  the  means  requisite  and  fairly 
applicable  to  the  attainment  of  the  end  of  such  powers,  and 
which  are  not  precluded  by  restrictions  and  exceptions  specified 
in  the  Constitution,  or  not  immoral  or  not  contrary  to  the  essen- 
tial ends  of  the  political  society." 

"  It  is  no  valid  objection  to  the  doctrine  to  say,  that  it  is 
calculated  to  extend  the  power  of  the  General  Government 
throughout  the  entire  Fplierc  of  State  legislation.  The  same 
thing  has  been  said  with  regard  to  every  exercise  of  power  by 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


2T 


implication  or  constrnction."  ^    "  The  truth  is,  that 

difficulties  on  this  point  are  inherent  in  the  nature  of  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  ;  they  result  inevitably  from  a  division  of  legis- 
lative power.  The  consequence  of  this  division  is,  that  there 
will  be  cases  clearly  within  the  power  of  the  national  Govern- 
ment, others  clearly  w^ithout  its  power,  and  a  third  class  which 
will  leave  room  for  controversy  and  difference  of  opinion,  and 
concerning  w^liich  a  reasonable  latitude  of  judgment  must  be 
allowed." 

To  erect  a  corporation  is  to  substitute  a  legal  or  artificial  to 
a  natural  person,  and,  when  a  number  are  concerned,  to  give 
them  individuality.  To  that  legal  or  artificial  person,  once  cre- 
ated, the  common  law  of  every  State  of  itself  annexes  all  those 
incidents  and  attributes  which  are  represented  as  a  prostration 
of  the  main  pillar  of  their  jurisprudence.  But  if  it  wxre  even 
to  be  admitted  that  the  erection  of  a  corporation  is  a  direct  alter- 
ation of  the  stated  laws  in  the  enumeration  of  particulars,  it 
would  do  nothing  toward  proving  that  the  measure  was  uncon- 
stitutional. If  the  Government  of  the  United  States  can  do  no 
act  which  amounts  to  an  alteration  of  a  State  law,  all  its  powers 
are  nugatory  ;  for  almost  every  new  law  is  an  alteration,  in  some 
way  or  other,  of  an  old  law,  either  common  or  statute. 

There  are  laws  concerning  bankruptcy  in  some  States ;  some 
have  laws  regulating  the  value  of  foreign  coin.  Congress  are 
empowered^'  to  establish  uniform  laws  concerning  bankruptcy 
throughout  the  United  States,  and  to  regulate  the  value  of  for- 
eign coin.  The  exercise  of  either  of  these  powers  by  Congress 
necessarily  involves  an  alteration  of  the  laws  of  those  States. 

As  to  the  rejection  of  a  proposition  by  the  Convention  to 
em2:>ower  Congress  to  make  corporations,  Hamilton  says :  "  What 
was  the  precise  nature  or  extent  of  this  proposition,  or  what 
reasons  for  refusing  it,  is  not  ascertained  by  any  authentic  docu- 
ment, or  even  by  accurate  recollection.  As  far  as  any  docu- 
ments exist,  it  specifies  only  canals."  But  whatever  may  have 
been  the  nature  of  the  proposition,  or  the  reasons  for  rejecting, 
it  includes  nothing  in  respect  to  the  real  merits  of  the  question. 
The  Secretary  of  State  w^ill  not  deny  that,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  intention  of  the  framers  of  a  constitution  or  a  law,  that 
intention  is  to  be  sought  for  in  the  instrument  itself,  according 
to  the  usual  and  established  rules  of  construction. 

P.  123  :  "  It  is  presumed  to  have  been  satisfactorily  shown, 


28 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


in  tlie  course  of  tlie  preceding  observations :  1st.  That  tlie  power 
of  the  Government  as  to  the  objects  entrusted  to  its  manage- 
ment, is,  in  its  nature,  sovereign.  2d.  That  the  right  of  erecting 
corporations  is  one  inherent  in  and  indispensable  from  the  idea 
of  sovereign  power.  3d.  That  the  position,  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  can  exercise  no  power  but  such  as  is 
delegated  to  it  by  its  Constitution,  does  not  militate  against  this 
principle.  4th.  That  the  word  necessary  in  the  general  clause 
can  have  no  restrictive  operation  derogatory  from  the  force  of 
this  principle  ;  indeed,  that  the  degree  in  which  a  measure  is  or 
is  not  necessary,  cannot  be  a  test  of  constitutional  right,  but  of 
expediency  only.  5th.  That  the  power  to  erect  corporations  is 
not  to  be  considered  as  an  independent  or  substantive  power,  but 
as  an  incident  and  auxiliary  one,  and  was  therefore  more  prop- 
ei;ly  left  to  implication  than  expressly  granted.  6th.  That  the 
principle  in  question  does  not  extend  the  power  of  the  Govern- 
ment beyond  the  prescribed  limits,  because  it  only  affirms  a 
power  to  incorporate  for  purposes  w^ithin  the  sphere  of  the 
specified  powers.  And,  lastly,  That  the  right  to  exercise  such 
^l  power,  in  certain  cases,  is  unequivocally  granted  in  the  most 
positive  and  comprehensive  terms.  To  all  which  it  only  remains 
to  be  added,  that  such  a  power  has  been  exercised  in  tw^o  Very 
eminent  instances  ;  namely,  in  the  erection  of  two  governments, 
one  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  and  the  other  southwest ;  the 
last  independent  of  any  antecedent  compact.  And  these  result 
in  a  full  and  complete  demonstration  that  the  Secretary  of  State 
and  Attorney- General  are  mistaken,  when  they  deny  generally 
the  power  of  the  national  Government  to  erect  corporations." 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  then  proceeds  to  show  that 
there  is  a  power  to  erect  one  of  the  kind  proposed  by  the  bill. 

We  forbear  further  quotations  from  this  most  important  ex- 
amination of  the  powers  of  the  Government,  with  the  remark 
that  it  has  great  interest,  fi'om  the  fact  that  it  manifests  the 
efforts  of  the  mental  faculties  of  three  of  the  distinguished  states- 
men of  our  country — Jeflcrson,  Hamilton,  and  Randolph.  AVe 
may  add  this  anecdote,  related  to  the  writer  by  Judge  Story : 

When  the  argument  on  this  subject,  in  the  case  of  McCul- 
lough  V8.  Maryland,  4  Wlieaton,  p.  413,  w^as  concluded,  and  the 
case  had  been  decided  that  the  Act  was  the  exercise  of  a  con- 
Htitutional  i)Owcr,  Chief  Justice  Mar.sliall  informed  the  court 
that  he  would  write  the  oi)inion.    AVlien  that  was  finished,  lio 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


29 


asked  Judge  Storj  to  read  it.  On  returning  tlie  oj^inion  to 
Marshall,  Story  said  :  "  Erother  Marshall,  you  have  said  nothing 
more  than  Hamilton  wrote  in  his  report  to  Washington."  Mar- 
shall replied  :  "  I  have  not ;  Hamilton  exhausted  the  subject." 

Washington,  after  a  full  and  deliberate  examination  of  the 
subject,  having  the  arguments  jpro  and  con  of  three  members  of 
his  Cabinet,  approved  the  bill  on  February  25th,  1791,  two  clays 
after  he  received  Hamilton's  most  conclusive  argument.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  the  discussion,  and  the  decision  by  Presi- 
dent Washington,  preceded  the  date  of  Jefierson's  letter  to  Skep- 
with  and  Short,  quoted  above. 

When  the  term  of  the  continuance  of  the  first  Bank  was 
nearly  ended,  a  bill  was  introduced  to  renew  the  charter  ;  which 
was  defeated  by  the  casting  vote  of  Clinton,  the  Yice-President. 
Pending  the  discussion  of  that  bill,  according  to  Mr.  Gallatin's 
statement,  Mr.  Jefferson  expressed  a  wish  that,  if  the  bill  was 
passed,  it  might  be  effected  by  the  operation  of  the  ten  days' 
provision,  and  thus  that  his  consistency  should  be  preserved. 

In  closing  this  branch  of  our  subject,  we  quote  from  Presi-  " 
dent  Madison's  Message,  January  30th,  1S15  :  AYaiving  the 
question  of  the  constitutional  authority  of  the  Legislature  to 
establish  an  incorporated  bank,  as  being  precluded,  in  my  judg- 
ment, by  repeated  recognitions,  under  varied  circumstances,  of 
the  validity  of  such  an  institution  in  acts  of  the  legislative, 
executive,  and  judicial  branches  of  the  Government,  accom- 
panied by  indications  in  different  modes  of  a  concurrence  of  the 
general  will  of  the  nation,  the  proposed  bank  does  not  appear 
to  be  calculated  to  answer  the  purpose  of  reviving  the  public 
credit  by  providing  a  national  medium  of  circulation,"  &c.,  &c.' 

That  bill  having  been  amended  in  conformity  with  the  views 
of  the  President,  it  was  approved  by  him  on  the  10th  April, 
1816. 

President  Madison,  in  his  eighth  annual  Messnge,  December 
3d,  1816,  certainly  extends  the  powers  of  the  Government  in 
relation  to  the  subject  of  currency  far  beyond  any  thing  ever 
proposed  or  even  contemplated  by  Hamilton.  He  says :  "  The 
Constitution  has  entrusted  Congress  exclusively  with  the  power  of 
creating  and  regulating  a  currency  of  that  description ^  of  equal 
value ^  credit^  and  use  wherever  it  may  circulate  j  and  the  meas- 
ures taJcen  during  the  last  session  in  execution  of  the  jpower^  give 


30 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


every  promise  of  success.  The  Bank  of  the  United  States  has 
heen  organized  under  aiisjpices  the  most  favorable^  and  cannot 
fail  to  he  an  important  auxiliary  to  those  measiiresP 

This  assumed  power  necessarily  deprives  the  States  of  the 
power  to  establish  banks  of  issue,  because  the  Constitution,  as 
is  alleged,  has  given  to  Congress  the  exclusive  power  of  creating 
and  regulating  currency. 

Mr.  Yan  Buren  (p.  385),  referring  to  the  funding  system, 
says  :  "  It  has  long  been  discontinued."  lie  adds  :  As  a  na- 
tional bank  has  not  become  more  completely  an  obsolete  idea." 
Exactly  when  this  was  written,  does  not  appear.  Its  author 
died  in  July,  1862.  The  existing  funding  system  was  estab- 
lished by  the  Act  of  Congress  passed  on  the  25th  February, 
1862  :  "  An  Act  to  Authorize  the  Issue  of  United  States  JSTotes, 
and  for  the  liedemption  or  Funding  thereof,  and  for  Funding 
the  Floating  Debt  of  the  United  States."  The  5th  section  of 
this  Act  provides  that  the  "  duties  shall  be  paid  in  gold,  which 
shall  be  set  apart  as  a  special  fund,  and  applied,  first^  to  the 
payment  in  coin  of  the  interest  on  bonds  and  notes ;  second.^  to 
the  purchase  or  payment  of  one  per  centum  of  the  entire  debt, 
which  is  to  be  set  apart  as  a  sinking  fund,"  &c. 

The  National  Banks  now  existing  were  authorized  by  the 
Act  passed  June  3d,  1864.  So  much  for  Mr.  Yan  Buren's  "  ob- 
solete ideaP 

Mr.  Yan  Buren  (p.  263)  refers  to  the  Sedition  and  Alien 
Laws  with  just  reprobation.  lie,  however,  adds :  "  Yet  it  is 
well  known  that,  of  these  last  measures,  the  first  (Sedition  Law) 
was  passed  upon  Hamilton's  suggestion."  This  is  a  most  gra- 
tuitous misrepresentation.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  and  is  well 
known  that  Hamilton  disapproved  of  that  Act.  In  proof  of 
this,  we  refer  to  a  letter  he  wrote  to  Wolcott,  a  member  of  the 
Cabinet,  dated  June  29th,  1798  : 

"  Dear  Slr  :  I  have  this  moment  seen  a  bill  brought  into  the 
Senate,  entitled  '  A  Bill  to  Define  more  Particulai'ly  the  Crime 
of  Treason.'  There  are  provisions  in  this  bill  which,  according 
to  a  cursory  view,  appear  to  me  highly  exceptionable,  and  such 
as,  more  than  any  thing  else,  may  endanger  civil  war.  I  have 
not  time  tu  point  out  my  objections  by  this  post,  but  I  will  do 
it  to-morrow.  I  hope  sincerely  the  thing  may  not  be  hurried 
through.    Let  us  'not  estahUsh  a  tyranny.    Energy  is  a  very 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


31 


different  thing  from  violence.  If  we  make  no  false  step,  we 
will  be  essentially  miited  ;  but  if  vre  pusli  things  to  an  extreme, 
we  shall  then  give  to  faction  hody  and  solidiiyP  See  Hamil- 
ton's Works,  vol.  vi.,  p.  307. 

Wolcott,  in  reply,  said  :  "  The  Sedition  Law  is  mei'ely  a  copy 
of  a  statute  passed  in  October,  1774  ;  "  Gibbs. 

Yan  Buren  (p.  131),  referring  to  the  doctrine  of  implied 
powers,  and  Hamilton's  avowed  principles,  says  that  he  (Ham- 
ilton) should  be  found  mousing  over  the  words  of  the  Consti- 
tution for  equivocal  expressions."  "  To  mouse^''  according  to 
Webster's  Dictionary,  means,  "  to  watch  for  or  pursue  in  a  sly 
or  insidious  manner  " — of  which  Hamilton  was  incapable.  That 
Yan  Buren  knew,  when  this  charge  was  made,  the  meaning  of 
the  word,  is  most  probable ;  because  Calhoun,  long  before  his 
work  was  written,  had,  in  the  Senate,  spoken  of  Yan  Buren  as 
a  "  mousing  politician." 

I  conclude  this  work,  which  I  have  undertaken  in  obedience 
to  a  sense  of  duty  to  my  father,  by  endeavoring  to  show  that 
the  author  of  so  malignant  an  attack  upon  a  man  who  had  ren- 
dered some  service  to  his  country,  was  induced  by  the  inspiration 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  during  his  visit  to  that  gentleman. 

Yan  Buren  (p.  431)  says :  "  The  measures  of  which  I  have 
spoken,  as  the  9herished  policy  of  the  old  Federal  party  and  its 
successors,  taken  as  a  whole,  were  justly  described  by  Jefferson 
in  his  much-abused  letter  to  Mazzei,  as  a  contrivance  invented 
for  the  purpose  of  corruption,  and  for  assimilating  us  in  all  re- 
spects to  the  rotten  as  well  as  the  sound  parts  of  the  British 
Constitution." 

Upon  examining  Jefferson's  letter  to  Washington,  dated  23d* 
May,  1792,  published  in  the  12th  Appendix  to  the  tenth  volume 
of  Washington's  Works,  by  Sparks,  it  will  be  found  that  he 
attributes  to  Hamilton  all  the  objections,  disloyal  purposes,  and 
corrupting  influences  which  Yan  Buren  has  imputed  to  Hamil- 
ton in  this  work. 

Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Hamilton,  written  at  Mount  Yer- 
non,  dated  29th  July,  1792  (p.  249,  vol.  x.,  Writings  of  Wash- 
ington), throws  the  letter  by  Jefferson  in  the  form  of  objections 
from  1  to  21.  (Note  by  Sparks :  "  This  summary  is  copied  almost 
verbatim  from  a  letter  which  the  writer  had  recently  received 
from  Mr.  Jefferson.")    Wasl^ington  says  :  "  To  obtain  light  and 


32 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


pursue  truth  being  my  sole  aim,  and  wishing  to  have  before  me 
explanations  of,  as  well  as  the  complaints  on,  measures  in  which 
the  public  interest  and  harmony  are  so  deeply  concerned  and 
my  public  character  so  much  involved,  it  is  my  request,  and  you 
would  oblige  me  by  furnishing  me  with  your  ideas  upon  the 
discontents  here  enumerated  ;  and  for  this  purpose  I  have  thrown 
them  into  heads  or  sections,  and  numbered  them,  that  these  ideas 
may  be  applied  to  the  correspondent  numbers." 

It  is  to  be  ren^iarked,  that  Jefferson's  letter  was  written  when 
he  and  Hamilton  were  members  of  the  Cabinet. 

Hamilton's  answer  to  this  letter  will  be  found  in  vol.  iv.  of 
Hamilton's  Works,  pp.  247-279. 

Philadelphia,  August  18t\  1793. 
Sir  :  I  am  happy  to  be  able  at  length  to  send  you  answers 
to  the  objections  which  were  communicated  to  me  in  your  letter 
of  29th  July.  They  have  been  imavoidably  drawn  in  haste — 
too  much  so  to  do  perfect  justice  to  the  subject — and  have  been 
copied  just  as  they  flowed  from  my  heart  and  pen,  without  re- 
vision or  correction.  You  will  observe  that,  here  and  there, 
some  severity  apjDcars.  I  have  not  fortitude  enough  always  to 
bear  with  calmness  calumnies  which  necessarily  include  me  as 
the  principal  agent  in  the  measures  concerned  ;  of  the  falsehood 
of  which  I  have  the  most  unqualified  consciousness. 

"  Objections  and  answers  respecting  the  administration  of  the 
Government. """^ 

Objection  1.  The  public  debt  is  greater  than  we  can  pos- 
sibly pay  before  other  causes  of  adding  to  it  will  occur ;  and 
this  has  been  artificially  created  by  adding  together  the  luhole 
amount  of  the  debtor  and  creditor  sides  of  the  accounts." 

Answer.  "  The  public  debt  was  created  by  the  late  war.  It 
is  not  the  fault  of  the  present  Government  tliat  it  exists,  unless 
it  can  be  proved  that  public  morality  and  policy  do  not  require 
of  a  government  an  lionest  provision  for  its  debts.  Whether  it 
is  greater  than  can  be  paid  before  new  causes  of  adding  to  it 
will  occur,  is  a  problem  incapable  of  being  solved  but  by  expe- 
rience ;  and  this  would  be  the  case  if  it  were  not  one  fourth  as 
much  as  it  is." 

"If  the  policy  of  the  country  be  prudent,  cautious,  and 
neutral  toward  foreign  nations,  there  is  a  rational  probability 


HAMILTON   VINDICATED.  3o 

that  Avar  may  be  avoided  long  enough  to  wipe  off  the  debt. 
The  Dut(ih,  in  a  situation  not  near  so  favorable  for  it  as  that  of 
the  United  States,  have  enjoyed  intervals  of  peace  longer  than, 
with  proper  exertions,  would  suffice  for  the  purpose.  The  debt 
of  the  United  States,  compared  with  its  present  and  growing 
abilities,  is  really  a  very  light  one  ;  it  is  little  more  than  fifteen 
million  pounds  sterling— about  the  annual  expenditure  of  Great 
Britain." 

As  to  its  having  been  artificially  increased,  this  is  denied  ; 
perhaps,  indeed,  the  true  reproach  of  the  system  which  has  been 
adopted,  is,  that  it  has  artificially  diminished  the  debt,  as  will 
be  explained  by  and  by. 

The  assertion  that  the  debt  has  been  increased  by  adding 
together  the  whole  amount  of  the  debtor  and  creditor  sides  of 
the  account,  not  being  easy  to  be  understood,  is  not  easy  to  be 
answered  ;  but  an  answer  will  be  attempted. 

The  thirteen  States,  in  their  joint  capacity,  owed  a  certain 
sum  ;  the  same  States,  in  their  separate  capacities,  owed  another 
sum  ;  these  two  sums  constitute  the  aggregate  of  the  ^.^ublic 
debt.  The  public,  in  a  political  sense,  of  the  Government  of  the 
Union,  and  of  the  several  States,  was  the  debtor  ;  the  individuals 
who  held  the  various  evidences  of  debt  were  the  creditors.  It 
would  be  nonsense  to  say  that  the  combining  of  the  two  parts 
of  the  public  debt  is  adding  together  the  debtor  and  creditor 
sides  of  the  account.  So  great  an  absurdity  cannot  be  supposed 
to  be  intended  by  the  objection.  Another  meaning  must  there- 
fore be  sought  for.  It  may  possibly  exist  in  the  following  mis- 
conception. 

Hamilton  then  goes  on  to  suggest  different  misconceptions,  • 
and  to  refute  them  :  "  The  debt  may,  then,  rather  be  said  to 
have  been  artificially  decreased  by  the  nature  of  the  provision. 
The  conclusion  of  the  whole  is,  that,  assuming  it  as  a  principle 
that  the  public  debts  of  the  different  descriptions  were  honestly 
to  be  provided  for  and  paid,  it  is  the  reverse  of  true  that  there 
has  been  an  artificial  increase  of  them.  To  argue  on  a  dififerent 
principle,  is  to  presuppose  dishonesty,  and  make  it  an  objection 
to  doing  right." 

Ohjection  2.  "  This  accumulation  of  debt  has  taken  forever 
out  of  our  powder  those  easy  resources  of  revenue  which,  applied 
to  the  ordinary  necessities  and  exigencies  of  government,  would 


34 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


liave  animated  them  habitually,  and  covered  ns  from  habitual 
murmurings  against  taxes  and  tax-gatherers.  Keserving  extra- 
ordinary calls  for  extraordinary  occasions,  would  animate  the 
people  to  meet  tliem." 

Answer.  "  There  having  been  no  accumulation  of  debt,  if 
what  is  here  pretended  to  have  been  the  consequence  were  true, 
it  would  only  be  to  be  regretted  as  the  unavoidable  consequence 
of  an  unfortunate  state  of  things.  But  the  supposed  conse- 
quence does  by  no  means  exist.  The  only  sources  of  taxation 
which  have  been  touched  are  imported  articles,  and  the  single 
internal  object  of  distilled  spirits  ;  lands,  houses,  the  great  mass 
of  personal  as  well  as  the  whole  of  real  property,  remains  essen- 
tially free.  In  short,  the  chief  sources  of  taxation  are  free  for 
extraordinary  conjunctures  ;  and  it  is  one  of  the  distinguishing 
merits  of  the  system  which  has  been  adopted,  that  it  has  ren- 
dered this  far  more  the  case  than  it  was  before.  It  is  only  to 
look  into  the  different  States,  to  be  convinced  of  it.  In  most 
of  them,  real  estate  is  wholly  exempted.  In  some,  very  small 
burthens  rest  upon  it  for  the  purposes  of  the  internal  govern- 
ments. In  all,  the  burthens  of  the  people  have  been  lightened. 
It  is  a  mockery  of  truth  to  represent  the  United  States  as  a  com- 
munity burthened  and  exhausted  by  taxes.*' 

Objection  3.  "  That  the  calls  for  money  have  been  no  greater 
than  we  must  generally  expect  for  the  same  or  equivalent  exi- 
gencies ;  yet  we  are  already  obliged  to  strain  tlie  impost  till  it 
produces  clamor,  and  will  produce  evasion  and  war  on  our  citi- 
zens to  collect  it,  and  even  to  resort  to  an  excise  law,  of  odious 
character  with  the  people,  partial  in  its  operation,  unproductive 
unless  enforced  by  arbitrary  and  vexatious  means,  and  commit- 
ting the  authority  of  the  Government  in  parts  where  resistance 
is  most  probable  and  coercion  least  practicable.' ' 

Answer,  "  This  is  mere  painting  and  exaggeration.  With 
tlie  exception  of  a  very  few  articles,  the  duties  on  imports  ai'e 
still  moderate — lower  than  in  any  other  country  of  whose  regu- 
lations we  have  knowledge,  except,  perhaps,  Holland,  where, 
having  few  productions  or  commodities  of  their  own,  their  ex- 
])ort  trade  depends  upon  the  exportation  of  foreign  articles." 
*  ^'  "  The  general  inducements  to  a  provision  for  tlie  pub- 
lic debt  are : 

"  1st.  To  preserve  the  public  faith  and  integrity,  by  fulfilling, 


HA]\IILTON  VINDICATED. 


35 


as  far  as  was  practicable,  the  public  engagements.  2d.  To  mani- 
fest a  due  respect  for  property,  hj  satisfying  the  public  obliga- 
tions in  the  hands  of  the  public  creditors  ;  and  which  were  as 
much  their  property  as  their  houses  or  their  lands,  their  hats  or 
their  coats.  3d.  To  revive  and  establish  public  credit,  the  palla- 
dium of  public  safety.  4th.  To  preserve  the  Government  itself, 
by  showing  it  worthy  of  the  confidence  placed  in  it."  *  -x-  * 
"  The  particular  inducements  to  an  assumption  of  State  debts 
were : 

"  1st.  To  consolidate  the  finances  of  the  country,  and  give  an 
assurance  of  permanent  order  in  them ;  avoiding  the  collisions 
of  thirteen  different  and  independent  systems  of  finance,  under 
concurrent  and  coequal  authority  "  (the  States),  "  and  the  scram- 
bling for  revenue  which  would  be  incident  to  so  many  different 
systems.  2d.  To  secure  to  the  Government  of  the  Union,  by 
avoiding  those  entanglements,  an  effectual  command  of  the  re- 
sources of  the  Union  for  present  and  future  exigencies.  3d.  To 
equalize  the  condition  of  the  citizens  of  the  several  States  in  the 
important  article  of  taxation,  rescuing  a  part  of  them  from  being 
oppressed  with  burthens  beyond  their  strength,  on  account  of 
extraordinary  exertions  in  the  war."    *    *  « 

"  A  mind  naturally  attached  to  order  and  system,  and  capa- 
ble of  appreciating  their  immense  value,  unless  misled  by  par- 
ticular feelings,  is  struck  at  once  with  the  prodigious  advantages 
which,  in  the  course  of  time,  must  attend  such  a  simplification 
of  the  financial  affairs  of  the  country  as  results  from  placing  all 
the  parts  of  the  public  debt  on  one  footing,  under  one  direction, 
regulated  by  one  provision.  The  want  of  this  sound  policy  has 
been  a  continual  source  of  disorder  and.  embarrassment  in  th^ 
affairs  of  the  United  ISTetherlands."  (We  forbear  to  quote  more 
in  answer  to  this  objection.) 

Objection  -ith.  "  Propositions  have  been  made  in  Congress, 
and  projects  are  on  foot  still,  to  increase  the  mass  of  the  debt." 

Answer,  "  Propositions  have  been  made,  and  no  doubt  will 
be  renewed  by  the  States  interested,  to  complete  the  assumption 
of  the  State  debts.  This  would  add,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the 
mass  of  the  debt  of  the  United  States  between  three  and  four 
millions,  but  it  would  not  increase  the  mass  of  the  public  debt 
at  all.  It  would  only  transfer  from  particular  States  to  the 
Union  debts  which  already  exist."    *    *  * 


36 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


Objection  oth.  They  say  tliat,  by  borrowing  at  two  thirds 
of  the  interest,  we  might  have  paid  off  the  piincipal  in  two 
thirds  of  the  time ;  but  from  this  we  are  precluded,  from  its 
being  made  irredeemable  but  in  small  portions  and  long  terms." 

Answer.  "  First,  all  the  foreign  loans  made  by  the  United 
States  prior  to  the  present  Government  cost  more  than  six  per 
cent. ;  since  the  establishment  of  the  present  Government,  they 
borrowed  first  at  live  and  a  quarter  per  cent.,  including  charges, 
and  since,  at  about  four  and  a  quarter  per  cent.,  including 
charges ;  and  it  is  questionable,  in  the  present  state  of  Europe, 
whether  they  can  obtain  any  further  loans  at  so  low  a  rate.  The 
system  which  is  reprobated  is  the  very  cause  that  we  have  been 
able  to  borrow  on  so  good  terms."  *  *  *  "  Secondly,  we 
could  not  have  borrowed  at  so  low  a  rate  of  interest  in  the 
United  States."  *  *  *  "  Lastly,  the  plan  which  has  been 
adopted  secures,  in  the  first  instance,  the  identical  advantage 
which,  in  the  other  plan,  would  have  been  eventiial  and  contin- 
gent. It  puts  one  third  of  the  whole  debt  at  an  interest  of  three 
per  cent,  only,  and,  by  deferring  the  payment  of  interest  on  one 
third  of  the  remainder,  effectually  reduces  the  interest  on  that 
part.  It  is  evident  that  a  susjpension  of  interest  is,  in  fact,  a 
reduction  of  interest." 

"  In  reality,  on  the  principles  of  the  funding  system,  the 
United  States  reduced  the  interest  on  their  whole  debt,  upon  an 
average,  to  about  four  and  a  half  per  cent." 

"  The  funding  system,  then,  secured,  in  the  very  outset,  the 
'precise  advantage  which,  it  is  alleged,  would  have  accrued  from 
having  the  whole  debt  redeemable  at  pleasure.  But  this  is  not 
all ;  it  did  more.  It  left  the  Government  still  in  a  condition  to 
enjoy,  upon  five  ninths  of  the  entire  debt,  the  advantages  of 
extinguishing  it  by  loans  at  a  low  rate  of  interest,  if  they  are 
obtainable.  The  three  per  cents.,  which  are  one  third  of  the 
whole,  may  always  be  purchased  in  the  market  below  par,  until 
the  market  rate  of  interest  falls  to  three  per  cent.  The  deferred 
will  be  purchasable  below  par  till  near  the  period  of  the  actual 
payment  of  interest.  If  it  be  said  that  the  like  advantage  might 
liave  been  enjoyed  under  another  system,  the  assertion  would  be 
without  foundation."    *    "^^  * 

"  There  is  no  reproach  which  has  been  thrown  upon  the  fund- 
ing system  so  unmerited  as  that  which  charges  it  with  being  a 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


37 


oad  bargain  for  the  public,  or  with  a  tendency  to  prolong  tbe 
extinguishment  of  the  debt.  The  bargain  has,  if  any  thing, 
been  too  good  on  the  side  of  the  public  ;  and  it  is  impossible  for 
a  debt  to  be  in  a  more  convenient  form  than  it  is  for  a  rapid  ex- 
tinguishment."   *    *  ^ 

Upon  the  whole,  then,  it  is  the  merit  of  the  funding  system 
to  have  conciliated  these  three  important  points — the  restoration 
of  public  ci-edit,  a  reduction  of  the  rate  of  interest,  and  an 
organization  of  the  debt  convenient  for  speedy  extinguishment. 

Ohjection  6th.  "  That  this  irredeemable  quality  was  given 
to  the  debt  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  inviting  its  transfer  to 
foreign  countries." 

Answer.  "  This  assertion  is  a  palpable  misrepresentation. 
The  avowed  purpose  of  that  quality  of  the  debt,  as  explained 
in  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  in  the  argu- 
ments in  Congress,  was  to  give  an  eqidvalent  for  the  reduction 
of  interest."    (See  more  of  this.) 

Objection  7th.  "They  predict  that  this  transfer  of  the  prin- 
cipal, when  completed,  will  occasion  an  exportation  of  three 
millions  of  dollars  annually  for  the  interest."    *    *  * 

Answer.  "  The  objection  seems  to  forget  that  the  debt  is  not 
transferred  for  nothing ;  that  the  capital  paid  for  the  debt  is 
always  an  equivalent  for  the  interest  to  be  paid  to  the  purchaser. 
If  that  capital  is  well  employed  in  a  young  country  like  this,  it 
must  be  considerably  increased,  so  as  to  yield  a  greater  revenue 
than  the  interest  of  the  money.  The  country,  therefore,  will  be 
a  gainer  by  it,  and  will  be  able  to  pay  the  interest  without  incon- 
venience."   *  - 

Objection  8th.  That  the  banishment  of  our  coin  will  be 
completed  by  the  creation  of  ten  millions  of  paper  in  the  form 
of  bank-bills,  now  issuing  into  circulation." 

Answer.  "  This  is  a  mere  hypothesis,  in  wdiich  theorists 
differ.  There  are  no  decisive  facts  on  which  to  rest  the  ques- 
tion." (Hamilton  quotes  Smith's  "  Wealth  of  Nations,"  vol.  i., 
Book  2,  chap.  2,  pp.  441-4:44,  to  show  "  that  banks  more  than 
compensate  for  the  loss  of  the  specie  in  other  ways.") 

Objection  9th.  "  They  think  that  the  ten  or  twelve  per  cent, 
annual  profit  paid  to  the  lenders  of  this  paper  medium  are  taken 
out  of  the  pockets  of  the  people,  who  would  have  had,  without 
interest,  the  coin  it  was  banishing." 


38 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


Answer.  "  First,  the  profits  of  tlie  banks  have  not  hitherto 
exceeded  eight  per  centum,  and  perhaps  never  may.  Second, 
these  profits  can  in  no  just  sense  be  said  to  be  taken  out  of  the 
pockets  of  the  people."  *  *  *  "  If  a  man  receives  a  bank- 
bill  for  the  ox  or  bushel  of  wheat  he  sells,  he  pays  no  more  in- 
terest upon  it  than  upon  the  same  sum  in  gold  or  silver ;  that 
is,  he  pays  none  at  all."  (Hamilton  goes  further  on  this  point, 
and  closes  thus :)  "  All  this  is  so  plain  and  palpable,  that  the 
assertion  which  is  made  betrays  extreme  ignorance  or  extreme 
disingenuousness.    It  is  destitute  even  of  color." 

Objection  10th.  That  all  the  capital  employed  in  paper 
speculations  is  barren  and  useless,  producing,  like  that  on  a 
gaming-table,  no  accession  to  itself,  and  is  withdrawn  from  com- 
merce and  agriculture,  where  it  would  have  produced  addition 
to  the  common  mass." 

Answer.  This  is  a  copious  subject,  which  has  been  fully  dis- 
cussed in  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on  the 
subject  of  manufactures.  From  page  to  page   lie  con- 
tinues at  large. 

Objection  12th.  "  The  funding  of  the  debt  has  furnished 
effectual  means  of  coiTupting  such  a  portion  of  the  Legislature  as 
turns  the  balance  between  the  honest  voters,  whichever  way  it 
is  directed." 

Answer.  "  This  is  one  of  those  assertions  which  can  only  be 
denied,  and  pronounced  to  be  malignant  and  false.  No  facts 
exist  to  support  it ;  no  argument  can  be  brought  to  repel  it. 
The  assertors  beg  the  question.  They  assume  to  themselves, 
and  to  those  who  chink  with  them,  infallibility.  Take  their 
words  for  it,  they  are  the  only  honest  men  in  the  community. 
But  compare  the  tenor  of  men's  lives,  and  at  least  as  large  a 
portion  of  virtuous  and  independent  characters  will  be  found 
among  those  whom  they  malign  as  among  themselves.  A  mem 
ber  of  the  majority  of  the  Legislature  would  say  to  these  de- 
famers :  '  In  your  vocabulary,  gentlemen,  creditor  and  enemy 
appear  to  be  synonymous  terms  ;  the  support  of  jpuhlic  credit^ 
and  corruption.,  of  similar  import ;  an  enlarged  and  liberal  con- 
struction ol  the  Constitution  for  the  public  good  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  due  energy  of  the  national  authority,  of  the 
same  meaning  with  usurpation  and  a  conspiracy  to  overthrow 
the  republican  government  of  the  country  ;  every  man  of  a  dif 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


39 


ferent  opinion  from  your  own,  an  ambitious  despot  or  a  corrupt 
knave.  You  bring  every  thing  to  the  standard  of  your  narrow 
and  depraved  ideas,  and  you  condemn  without  mercy,  or  even 
decency,  whatever  does  not  accord  with  it.  But  your  preten- 
sions must  be  rejected,  your  insinuations  despised.  Your  poli- 
tics originate  in  immorality — in  a  disregard  of  the  maxims  of 
good  faith  and  the  rights  of  propert}^,  and,  if  they  could  prevail, 
must  end  in  national  disgrace  and  confusion.  Your  rules  of 
construction  for  the  authorities  vested  in  the  Government  of  the 
Union  would  arrest  all  its  essential  movements,  and  bring  it 
back  in  practice  to  the  same  state  of  imbecility  which  rendered 
the  old  confederation  contemptible.  Your  principles  of  liberty 
are  principles  of  licentiousness,  incompatible  with  all  govern- 
ment. You  sacrifice  every  thing  that  is  venerable  and  substan- 
tial in  society  to  the  vain  reveries  of  a  false  and  new-fangled 
philosophy.  As  to  the  motives  by  which  I  have  been  influenced, 
I  leave  my  general  conduct  in  private  and  public  life  to  speak 
for  them.  Go  and  learn  among  my  fellow-citizens  whether  I 
have  not  uniformly  maintained  the  character  of  an  honest  man. 
As  to  love  of  liberty  and  country,  you  have  given  no  stronger 
proof  of  being  actuated  by  it  than  I  have  done.  Cease,  then,  to 
arrogate  to  yourself,  and  to  your  party,  all  the  patiiotism  and 
virtue  of  the  country.^ 

Such  is  the  answer  that  would  naturally  be  given  by  a 
member  of  the  majority  of  the  Legislature  to  such  an  objection. 
And  it  is  the  only  one  that  could  be  given  until  some  evidence 
of  the  supposed  corruption  should  be  produced."  (See  this 
further.) 

Objection  13th.  "  The  corrupt  squadron  deciding  the  voice 
of  the  Legislature  have  manifested  their  disposition  to  get  rid 
of  the  limitations  imposed  by  the  Constitution  on  the  general 
Legislature  ;  limitations  on  the  faith  of  which  the  States  acceded 
to  that  instrument." 

Answer.  "  Here  again  the  objectors  beg  the  question.  They 
take  it  for  granted  that  their  constructions  of  the  Constitution 
are  right,  and  that  the  opposite  ones  are  wrong  ;  and,  with  great 
srood-nature  and  candor,  ascribe  the  efiect  of  a  difference  of 
opinion  to  a  disposition  to  get  rid  of  the  limitations  on  the  Gov- 
ernment. Those  who  have  advocated  the  constructions  which 
have  obtained,  have  met  tjieir  opponents  on  the  ground  of  fair 


40 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


argument,  and,  they  think,  have  refiited  them.  How  shall  it  be 
determined  which  side  is  right  ?  " 

(The  following  views  of  the  Constitution  are  well  worthy  of 
attention. — J.  A.  H.) 

There  are  some  things  which  the  General  Government  has 
clearly  a  right  to  do ;  there  are  others  which  it  has  clearly  no 
right  to  meddle  with  ;  and  there  is  a  good  deal  of  middle  ground 
about  which  honest  and  well-disposed  men  may  differ.  The 
most  that  can  be  said,  is,  that  some  of  this  middle  ground  may 
have  been  occupied  by  the  national  Legislature  ;  and  this  surely 
is  no  evidence  of  a  disposition  to  get  rid  of  the  limitations  in  the 
Constitution,  nor  can  it  be  viewed  in  that  light  by  men  of  can- 
dor." 

Ohjection  14th.  The  ultimate  object  of  all  this  is,  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  a  change  from  the  present  republican  form  of 
government  to  that  of  a  monarchy,  of  which  the  British  Consti- 
tution is  to  be  the  model." 

To  this  there  is  no  other  answer  than  a  flat  denial,  except 
this,  that  the  project,  from  its  absurdity,  refutes  itself.  The  idea 
of  introducing  a  monarchy  or  aristocracy  into  this  country,  by 
employing  the  influence  and  force  of  a  government  continually 
changing  hands,  toward  it,  is  one  of  those  visionary  things  tnat 
]ione  but  madmen  could  meditate,  and  that  no  wise  man  will 
believe."  (Did  Yan  Buren  believe  this  charge  against  Hamil- 
ton, so  often  repeated  by  him,  was  true  ?  If  he  did  not,  com- 
mon justice  should  have  prompted  him  to  refer  his  reader  to  this 
denial.)  If  it  could  be  done  at  all — which  is  utterly  incredi- 
ble— it  would  require  a  long  series  of  time,  certainly  beyond  the 
life  of  any  individual,  to  efiect  it.  Who,  then,  would  enter  into 
rtuch  a  plot? — for  what  purpose  of  interest  or  ambition?  To 
hope  that  the  people  may  be  cajoled  into  giving  their- sanctions 
to  such  institutions,  is  still  more  chimerical.  A  people  so  en- 
lightened and  so  diversified  as  the  people  of  this  country,  can 
surely  never  be  brought  to  it  but  from  convulsions  and  disorders 
in  consequence  of  the  arts  of  popular  demagogues." 

"  The  truth  unquestionably  is,  that  the  only  path  to  a  sub- 
version of  the  republican  system  of  the  country  is  by  flattering 
the  prejudices  of  the  people,  and  exciting  their  jealousies  and 
apprehensions,  to  throw  affairs  into  confusion,  and  bring  on  civil 
commotion.     Tired,  at  length,  of  anarchy  or  want  of  govern- 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


41 


nieut,  tliey  may  take  shelter  in  the  arms  of  monarchy  for  repose 
and  security.  Those,  then,  who  resist  a  confirmation  of  public 
order,  are  the  true  artificers  of  monarchy." 

Ohjection  15th.  The  charge  that  this  was  contemplated  in 
the  Convention,  they  say,  is  no  secret,  because  its  partisans  have 
made  none  of  it ;  to  effect  it  then  was  impracticable  ;  but  they 
are  still  eager  after  their  object,  and  are  predisposing  every  thing 
for  its  ultimate  attainment!" 

Answer.  This  is  a  palpable  misrepresentation.  No  man 
that  I  know  of  contemplated  the  introducing  into  this  country  a 
monarchy.  A  very  small  number  (not  more  than  thi*ee  or  four) 
manifested  theoretical  opinions  favorable  in  the  abstract  to  a 
Constitution  like  that  of  Great  Britain ;  but  every  one  agreed 
that  such  a  Constitution,  except  as  to  the  general  distribution  of 
departments  and  powers,  was  out  of  the  question  in  reference  to 
this  country.  The  member  who  was  most  explicit  on  this  point 
(a  member  from  JsTew  York),  declared,  in  strong  terms,  that  the 
republican  theory  ought  to  be  adhered  to  in  this  country  as  long 
as  there  was  any  chance  of  its  success  ;  that  the  idea  of  a  perfect 
equality  of  political  rights  among  the  citizens,  exclusive  of  all 
permanent  or  hereditary  distinctions,  was  of  a  nature  to  engage 
the  good  wishes  of  every  good  man,  whatever  might  be  his  theo- 
retic doubts  ;  that  it  merited  his  best  efforts  to  give  success  to  it 
in  practice."  (This  was  Hamilton.)  The  basis,  therefore,  of 
this  suggestion  fails." 

Ohjection  16th.  "  So  many  of  them  have  got  into  the  Legis- 
lature, that,  aided  by  the  corrupt  squadron  of  paper-dealers  who 
are  at  their  devotion,  they  make  a  majority  in  both  Houses." 

This  has  been  answered  above.  Neither  description  of  char- 
acter is  to  be  found  in  the  Legislature. 

In  re])ly  to  this  charge,  so  far  as  Hamilton  is  concerned,  the 
wi'iter  may  here  introduce  the  following  facts.  General  Henry 
Lee,  once  Governor  of  Yirginia,  and  so  famous  in  the  Revolu- 
tion as  Light-Horse  Lee,  addressed  a  letter  to  Hamilton,  dated 
Richmond,  November  16th,  1789  (a  copy  of  which  is  now  before 
me).    We  quote : 

From  your  situation,  you  must  be  able  to  form,  with  some 
certainty,  an  opinion  concerning  the  domestic  debt.  Will  it 
speedily  rise  ?  Will  the  interest  accruing  command  specie,  or 
any  thing  nearly  as  valuable  1^"  &c.,  &c. 


42 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


"  These  queries,  perhajDs,  may  be  improper.  I  do  not  think 
them  so,  or  I  would  not  propound  them.  Of  this  you  will  de- 
cide, and  act  accordingly." 

Hamilton  replied,  New  York,  December  1st,  1789  ; 
"  To  H.  Lee,  Esq.  : 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  16th  ultimo.  I  am  sure 
you  are  sincere,  when  you  say  you  would  not  subject  me  to  an 
impropriety — nor  do  I  know  that  there  would  be  any — in  an- 
swering your  queries  ;  but  you  remember  the  saying  with  regard 
to  Caesar's  wife.  I  think  the  spirit  of  it  applicable  to  every  man 
concerned  in  the  administration  of  the  finances  of  the  country. 
With  respect  to  the  conduct  of  such  men,  suspicion  is  ever  eagle- 
eyed,  and  the  most  innocent  things  are  apt  to  be  misinterpreted. 

"  Yours,  A.  Hamilton." 

The  writer  knows  of  two  other  applications  of  a  like  char- 
acter, which  were  rejected  by  his  father.  See  Keminiscences, 
James  A.  Hamilton,  p.  18,  for  other  refusals  to  give  information. 
The  17th,  18th,  and  19th  heads  are  treated  together.  Thus: 
"  They  are  rather  inferences  from,  or  comments  upon,  what  is 
before  suggested,  than  specific  objections.  The  answer  to  them 
must  therefore  be  derived  from  what  is  said  under  other  heads." 

Objection  20th.  The  owers  of  the  debt  are  in  the  southern, 
and  the  holders  of  it  in  the  northern,  division. 

Aiiswer.  If  this  were  literally  true,  it  would  be  no  argument 
for  or  against  any  thing  ;  it  would  be  still  morally  and  politically 
right  for  the  debtors  to  pay  their  creditors.  But  it  is  in  no 
sense  true.  The  owers  of  the  debt  are  the  people  of  every  State, 
South,  Middle,  and  ITorth  ;  the  holders  are  the  individual  credi- 
tors, citizens  of  the  United  States,  Netherlands,  Great  Britain, 
(fee,  &c.  He  then  proceeds  to  show  how  and  where  the  debt 
arose. 

Treating  of  the  speculation  in  State  debts,  Hamilton  says : 
"  It  happened  that  Mr.  Madison,  and  some  other  distinguished 
characters  of  the  South,  started  in  opposition  to  the  assumption. 
The  high  opinion  entertained  of  them  made  it  be  taken  for 
granted,  in  that  quarter,  that  the  opposition  would  bo  success- 
ful. The  securities  quickly  rose  by  means  of  purchases  beyond 
their  former  prices.  It  was  imagined  that  they  would  soon  re- 
turn to  their  old  station  by  a  rejection  of  the  proposition  for 
assuming ;  and  the  certificate  holders  were  eager  to  part  with 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


43 


tbein  at  their  current  prices,  calculating  on  a  loss  to  the  pur- 
chasers from  their  fall.  This  representation  is  not  conjectural ; 
it  is  founded  on  information  from  respectable  and  intelligent 
Southern  characters,  and  may  be  ascertained  by  inquiry. 

"  Hence  it  happened  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Southern 
States  sustained  a  considerable  loss  by  the  opposition  to  the  as- 
sumption from  Southern  gentlemen,  and  their  too  great  confi- 
dence in  the  efficacy  of  that  opposition." 

Objection  21st.  This  is  a  speculation  on  the  course  of  parties. 
In  the  answer  to  this,  Hamilton  closes  thus  :  The  anti-Federal 
champions  alluded  to  may  be  taught  to  abate  their  exultation, 
by  being  told  that  the  great  body  of  the  Federalists,  or  rather 
the  great  body  of  the  people,  are  of  opinion  that  none  of  their 
predictions  have  been  fulfilled  ;  that  the  beneficial  effects  of  the 
Government  have  exceeded  expectation,  and  are  witnessed  by 
the  general  prosperity  of  the  nation." 

Mr.  Jefierson  has  without  reserve,  and  without  giving  facts 
or  names,  publicly  declared  that  Hamilton  had  bribed  members 
of  Congress,  and  thus  established  a  mercenary  majority,  ready 
to  sustain  all  his  measures.  On  the  4th  January,  1792,  he  ad- 
dressed the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Madison,  then  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  Jefierson's  Writings,  vol.  iii.,  p. 
439  :  "  I  have  not  yet  had  the  conversation  mentioned  in  my 
last "  (with  Washington,  in  regard  to  the  alleged  corruption). 
"  Do  you  remember  you  were  to  leave  me  a  list  of  names  ?  " 
(probably  of  names  of  members  who  he  had  said  had  been 
bribed.)  "  Pi*ay,  send  them  to  me.  My  only  view  is,  that,  if 
the  P."  (President)  "  asks  me  for  a  list  of  particulars,  I  may 
enumerate  names  to  him  without  naming  my  authority,  and 
show  him  that  I  had  been  speaking  merely  at  random.  If  we 
do  not  have  a  conversation  before  I  can  make  a  comparative 
table  of  debts  and  numbers  of  all  modern  nations,  I  will  show 
him  how  highly  we  stand  indebted  by  the  poll  in  that  table." 

Jefibrson  had  represented  to  Washington,  before  that  letter 
was  written,  that  the  members  of  Congress  had  been  corrupted  ; 
and,  failing  to  secure  the  evidence  from  Madison,  he  endeavors, 
by  false  and  artificial  means,  to  show  that  the  United  States 
had  been  charged  with  an  amount  of  debt  that  would  be  dan- 
gerous. 

This  is  a  most  disgraceM  transaction,  and  is  a  conclusive 
answer  to  the  charge  of  corruption. 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


It  is  possible,  but  biglilj  improbable,  that  Mr.  Yan  Biiren 
was  ignorant  of  these  Acts  of  Congress  and  the  Messages  of  his 
predecessors.  If  he  was  informed  on  the  subject,  he  has  most 
assuredly  wantonly  (I  might  say  more)  concealed  from  the  pub- 
lic facts,  which  go  to  prove  his  charges  against  Hamilton,  of 
violating  the  Constitution  as  to  the  protective  system^  as  to  the 
assum/ption  of  State  dehts^  and  the  fimding  system^  are  gross 
violations  of  the  truth.  Mr.  Yan  Buren  again  and  again  inti- 
mates, if  he  does  not  directly  assert,  that  Hamilton's  imputed 
violations  of  the  Constitution  were  prompted  by  a  disposition — 
nay,  a  design — to  change  this  Government,  and  give  it  a  mo- 
narchical form. 

I  have  before  stated  Hamilton's  views  on  this  subject,  in  his 
answer  to  the  15th  objection,  and  I  now  add  conclusive  evidence 
that  this  was  a  base  calumny. 

Hamilton,  August  1st,  1800,  addressed  the  following  letter 
to  John  Adams,  President  of  the  United  States : 

"  Sir  :  It  has  been  repeatedly  mentioned  to  me  that  you 
have,  on  different  occasions,  asserted  the  existence  of  a  British 
faction  in  this  country,  embracing  a  number  of  leading  or  influ- 
ential characters  of  the  Federal  party  (as  usually  denominated), 
and  that  you  have  sometimes  named  me,  at  others  plainly  al- 
luded to  me,  as  one  of  this  description  of  persons.  And  I  have 
likewise  been  assured  that,  of  late,  some  of  your  warm  ad- 
herents, for  electioneering  purposes,  have  employed  a  corre- 
sponding language. 

I  must,  sir,  take  it  for  granted  that  you  cannot  have  made 
such  assertions  or  insinuations  without  being  willing  to  avow 
them,  and  to  assign  the  reasons  to  a  party  who  may  conceive 
himself  injured  by  them.  I  therefore  trust  that  you  will  not 
deem  it  improper  that  I  apply  directly  to  yourself  to  ascertain 
from  you,  in  reference  to  your  own  declarations,  whether  the 
information  I  have  received  has  been  correct  or  not ;  and,  if 
correct,  what  are  the  grounds  on  which  you  liave  founded  the 
suggestions. 

"  With  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient 
servant." 

Hamilton,  after  waiting  two  months  for  an  answer  to  this 
civil  letter,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  John  Adams,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  : 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


45 


New  York,  October  1st,  1800. 
Sir  :  The  time  which  has  elapsed  since  my  letter  of  the  1st 
of  August  was  delivered  to  you,  precludes  further  expectation 
of  an  answer.  From  this  silence  I  will  draw  no  inference,  nor 
will  I  presume  to  judge  of  the  fitness  of  silence  on  such  an  occa- 
sion on  the  part  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  republic  toward  a 
citizen  who,  without  a  stain,  has  discharged  so  many  important 
public  trusts.  But  thus  much  I  will  affirm,  that,  by  whomsoever 
a  charge  of  the  kind  mentioned  in  my  former  letter  may  at  any 
time,  have  been  made  or  insinuated  against  me,  it  is  a  base, 
wicked,  and  cruel  calumny,  destitute  of  even  a  plausible  pretext 
to  excuse  the  folly  or  mask  the  depravity  which  must  have  dic- 
tated it. 

"  With  due  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient 
servant. 

"  (Signed)  Alexander  Hamilton." 

See  works  of  Hamilton,  vol.  vii.,  p.  726. 

Mr.  Yan  Buren  refers  to  Hamilton's  Works.  It  is  possible, 
but  not  at  all  probable,  that  he  did  not  read  these  letters.  If 
he  did,  common  fairness  would  have  induced  him  to  refer  to 
them.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the  man  who  could  express 
the  following  sublime  truth  (as  Hamilton  did),  could  have  enter- 
tained the  purpose  imputed  to  him  by  Van  Buren : 

"  The  fabric  of  American  empire  ought  to  rest  on  the  solid 
basis  of  the  consent  of  the  jpeople.  The  streams  of  national 
power  ought  to  flow  immediately  from  that  pure  original  foun- 
tain of  all  legitimate  authority." 

TJie  early  political  parties  in  our  country  during  the  War  of 
the  Revolution  were  designated  as  Whiga  and  Tories  ;  the  for- 
mer being  those  who  sustained  the  independence  of  the  colonies, 
the  latter  sustaining  the  royal  authority.  The  men  of  fortune, 
and  the  business  men  of  the  city  of  ITew  York,  the  same  class 
of  persons  in  the  southwest  part  of  Long  Island  and  the  south- 
ern part  of  AYestchester  county,  were,  with  few  exceptions, 
Tories.  Tlie  animosity  of  the  Whigs  against  the  Tories  in  Xew 
York  was  so  violent  and  demonstrative,  that,  when  the  city  was 
evacuated  by  the  British  troops,  a  small  force  was  left  behind  to 
keep  the  peace ;  and  Washington,  being  informed  of  this  state 
of  things  when  he  advanced  upon  the  city,  sent  down  a  small 
force  to  relieve  the  British  soldiers,  and  to  preserve  the  peace. 


46 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


So  intense  was  the  hatred  of  the  returned  AVhigs  against  the 
Tories,  that  they  attempted  to  expel  them ;  and  suits  were  prose- 
cuted to  confiscate  their  property,  in  violation  of  the  provisions 
of  the  Treaty  of  Peace.  Under  these  circumstances,  from  a  sense 
of  duty,  Hamilton,  in  1789,  wrote  and  published  two  long  let- 
ters, under  the  signature  of  Phocion^  which  mitigated  this  vio- 
lence of  feeling  and  action. 

The  next  party  division  of  the  people  of  the  country  was 
that  known  as  Federalists  and  anti-Federalists,  the  former  being 
those  who  were  in  favor  of  adopting  the  Constitution  of  govern- 
ment formed  by  the  Convention  which  was  held  in  Philadelphia 
from  May  25th  to  September  28th,  1787,  of  which  George  Wash- 
ington was  President.  The  Constitution  prepared  by  the  Con- 
vention was  submitted  by  the  Congress  held  under  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  to  conventions  to  be  held  in  the  several  States, 
the  members  thereof  to  be  elected  by  the  people.  When  the 
New  York  Convention  was  assembled  at  Poughkeepsie,  it  was 
found  that  two  thirds  of  the  members  were  opposed  to  adoption. 
They  were  under  the  lead  of  George  Clinton,  who  was  elected 
President  of  the  Convention.  The  leading  men  in  favor  of 
adoption  were  Chancellor  Livingston,  Philip  Schuylei-,  John 
Jay,  Alexander  Hamilton  ;  and,  after  a  very  protracted  se&<^ion, 
a  majority  was  in  favor  of  adoption. 

The  leading  publications  in  favor  of  the  Constitution  were 
denominated  the  Federalists. 

The  leading  men  of  the  country,  Washington  at  their  head, 
were  earnestly  in  favor  of  the  adoption.  Jefferson  was  opposed 
to  adoption,  unless  the  proposed  Constitution  was  amended. 

Mr.  Madison,  in  the  10th  number  of  the  Federalist^  says : 
"  And  according  to  the  degree  of  pleasure  and  pride  we  feel  in 
being  republicans,  ought  to  be  our  zeal  in  cherishing  the  spirit 
and  supporting  the  character  of  Federalists." 

The  Constitution  having  been  adopted,  and  the  Government 
under  it  organized  'a  1789,  the  illustrious  Washington  was 
elected  President,  and  John  Adams,  Yicc-President.  AYashing- 
ton's  Cabinet  was :  Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  Secretary  of  State ; 
Hamilton,  of  New  York,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  General 
Knox,  of  Massachusetts,  Secretary  of  War ;  and  Edmund  Ran- 
dolph, of  Virginia,  Attorney-General. 

The  question  which  occasioned  that  division  of  parties  having 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


4:7 


thus  been  settled,  tlie  parties  could  no  longer  exist  on  their  origi- 
nal differences  of  opinion. 

The  next  parties  which  arose  were  essentially  personal ;  that 
is  to  say,  they  were  induced  by  the  aspirations  of  certain  indi- 
viduals. 

Mr.  Yan  Buren,  referring  to  these  parties,  says  :  "  Mr.  Madi- 
son was  not  as  genuine  a  Democrat  as  Mr.  Jefferson  was."  See 
p.  . 

Mr.  Madison,  who  wrote  No.  10  of  the  Federalist^  shows 
conclusively  that  the  Government  formed  by  the  Constitution 
was  not  a  democracy^  and  he  points  out  the  distinction  between 
that  and  a  republic.  The  former  he  condemned,  the  latter  he 
approved ;  he  could  not,  therefore,  be  a  Democrat,  without  re- 
pudiating what  he  had  written  as  above  quoted,  and  being  dis- 
loyal to  his  Government. 

Blackwood,  January,  1825,  says :  The  Federalist,  wdiich 
may  be  called  seriously,  reverently,  the  Bible  of  republicanism. 
It  is  a  work  altogether  which,  for  comprehensiveness  of  design, 
strength,  clearness,  and  simplicity,  has  no  parallel.  We  do  not 
even  except  or  overlook  those  of  Montesquieu  and  Aristotle 
among  the  writings  of  men." 

The  first  Judge  Chase,  after  mentioning  Blackstone  and 
Woodison,  speaks  of  the  authors  of  the  Federalist  as  being,  in 
his  opinion,  superior  to  both  for  extensive  and  accurate  know- 
ledge of  the  true  principles  of  government  (3  Dallas  Eepts.,  391). 

Doctor  E-amsey,  in  his  history  of  the  American  Bevolution, 
says  of  the  letters  of  Publicus,  that  they  will  long  remain  a 
monument  of  the  strength  and  acuteness  of  the  human  under- 
standing in  investigating  truth  (vol.  ii.,  p., 405). 

The  Edinhurgh  Review^  IS'o.  24 :  "  The  Federalist  is  a  pub- 
lication that  exhibits  an  extent  of  information,  a  profundity  of 
research,  and  acuteness  of  understanding  which  would  have  done 
honor  to  the  most  illustrious  statesman  of  ancient  or  modern 
times." 

Guizot,  the  ablest  statesman  of  France  in  modern  times, 
speaking  of  the  Federalist^  said  :  For  all  that  combines  a  pro- 
found knowledge  of  the  great  elementary  principles  of  human 
government  with  the  wisest  maxims  of  practical  administration, 
I  do  not  know,  in  the  whole  compass  of  my  reading,  whether 
from  ancient  or  modern  authors,  so  able  a  work." 


48 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


We  have  presented  these  approvals  of  that  distinguished 
work,  that  our  fellow-citizens  of  the  present  generation  may, 
with  a  just  pride,  appreciate  the  merits  of  their  distinguished 
authors.  The  lirst  number  was  written  by  Hamilton,  in  the 
cabin  of  an  Albany  sloop,  on  his  way  to  Albany ;  it  was  issued 
27th  October,  1787.  'No.  6  was  written  by  him  at  Albany,  dur- 
ing the  sitting  of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  was  then  in  his  thir- 
tieth year.  John  Jay  wrote  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  and  64  (5).  James 
Madison  wrote  Nos.  10,  14,  37  to  48  inclusive  (14).  Hamilton 
and  Madison,  18,  19,  and  20  (3) ;  and  Hamilton  wrote  all  the 
rest  (63).  Total  85.  The  first  thirty-six  numbers  were  collected 
in  a  small  duodecimo  volume,  and  published  in  March,  1788. 
A  second  volume  appeared  at  the  close  of  the  same  year.  S<^>me 
of  the  numbers  were]  written  by  Hamilton,  when  the  printer's 
boy  was  waiting  for  them. 

Mr.  Jefferson  resigned  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  on  the 
31st  December,  1793.  Edmund  Kandolph  was  called  to  his 
})lace,  and  Bradford  was  appointed  Attorney-General. 

Randolph  Avas  driven  from  the  Cabinet  in  disgrace  on  the 
19th  August,  1795.  (Hildreth's  "  History  of  the  United  States," 
2d  series,  vol.  i.,  p.  556.)  Fanchett's  (French  Minister)  private 
despatch  No.  10  had  been  intercepted  on  its  way  to  France  by 
a  British  cruiser,  and,  through  Lord  Grenville,  had  been  trans- 
mitted to  Hammond,  the  British  Minister  at  Philadelphia.  As- 
serting the  delay  in  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  (Jay's  treaty) 
to  Randolph's  influence,  Hammond  communicated  this  despatch 
to  Wolcott,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  as  going  to  show  that 
intrigues  by  the  Secretary  of  State  (Randolph)  had  been  carried 
on  with  the  French  Minister.  Wolcott  and  Pinckney  requested 
Washington  to  return  with  all  speed  to  Philadelphia.  On  the 
19th  August,  at  a  Cabinet  meeting,  Washington  j^resented  to 
Randolph,  in  the  presence  of  the  other  Cabinet  officers,  the 
original  intercepted  despatch.  He  endeavored  to  make  explana- 
tions, which  he  perceived  were  not  satisfactory,  and  resigned. 

Upon  examining  Randolph's  accounts  as  Secretary  of  State, 
it  was  found  that  he  was  a  defaulter  to  over  $50,000  ;  and  no 
doubt  this  infamous  suggestion  to  the  French  Minister  was  in- 
duced by  the  hope  of  covering  up  this  deficiency. 

Mr.  Gallatin,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  hi;;,  ofiic-ial  ro- 
port,  refers  to  a  suit  against  Randolpli  then  pending  for  the 
above  amount. 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


41) 


After  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  and  tlie  Government, 
under  the  administration  of  Wasliington,  in  successful  operation, 
although  the  designation  of  the  parties  continued  for  some  time 
to  be  Federal  and  anti-Federal,  the  party  divisions  were  essen- 
tially persona],  resulting  from  the  ambitious  aspirations  of  Jef- 
ferson. 

John  Eandolph,  at  a  later  period,  declared  that,  before  the 
election  of  Washington's  successor,  it  was  agreed  and  well  under- 
stood among  them  that  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe  should 
be  elected  Presidents  in  succession  ;  and  such  was  the  result  of 
Jefferson's  party  management,  and  to  that  end,  as  we  shall  show, 
he  endeavored  to  destroy  the  popularity  of  every  man  who  might 
be  a  competitor  for  the  office,  or  whose  influence  might  be  given 
to  the  support  of  such  competitors.  He  well  knew  that  Wash- 
ington approved  the  financial  measures  of  Hamilton,  which  w^ere 
carried  through  Congress  by  the  Federal  party ;  he  therefore 
endeavored  to  impair  Washington's  influence,  as  we  will  prove. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  the  new  party  organizations. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  when  Secretary  of  State,  employed  Freneau, 
a  printer  from  ]^ew  York,  as  translating  clerk  in  his  department, 
who  directly  established  a  newspaper.  That  newspaper  was  the 
oracle  of  that  party  which  sustained  Mr.  Jefferson  and  abused 
all  the  measures  approved  by  Washington.  In  confirmation  of 
this,  we  refer  to  Jefferson's  Ana,  vol.  iv.  (Jefferson's  Writings), 
p.  485,  Ma}'"  23d,  1793  :  "  He  (the  President)  adverted  to  a  piece 
in  Freneau's  paper  of  yesterday.  He  said  he  despised  all  their 
attacks  on  him  personally,  but  there  never  had  been  an  act  of 
the  Government,  not  meaning  in  the  Executive  line  only,  but  in 
any  line,  which  that  paper  had  not  abused."  -j^-  *  *  He 
was  evidently  sore  and  warm,  and  I  took  his  intention  to  be 
that  I  should  interpose  in  some  way  with  Freneau — perhaps 
withdraw^  his  appointment  of  translating  clerk  to  my  office  ;  but 
I  will  not  do  it." 

Again,  vol.  iv.,  p.  491,  August  2d,  1793  :  "  Knox,  in  a  foolish, 
incoherent  speech,  introduced  the  pasquinade  lately  printed, 
called  the  '  funeral  of  George  W— — n,'  when  the  President  was 
placed  on  a  guillotine.  The  President  was  much  inflamed  ;  got 
into  one  of  those  passions  where  he  cannot  command  himself ; 
ran  on  much  on  the  personal  abuse  which  had  been  bestowed 
upon  him  ;  defied  any  man  o^i  earth  to  produce  one  single  act  of 
4 


50 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


hiSj  since  he  liad  been  in  the  Government,  which  was  not  done 
on  the  purest  motives  ;  that  he  had  never  repented  bnt  once  the 
having  slipped  the  moment  of  resigning  his  office,  and  that  was 
every  moment  since  ;  that,  ly  God^  he  had  rather  be  in  his  grave, 
than  in  his  present  situation ;  that  he  would  rather  be  on  his 
farm,  than  emperor  of  the  world  ;  and  yet,  that  they  were  charg- 
ing him  with  wanting  to  be  a  king ;  that  that  rascal  Freneau 
sent  him  three  of  his  papers  every  day,  as  if  he  thought  he 
would  become  the  distributor  of  his  papers  ;  that  he  could  see 
in  this  but  an  impudent  design  to  insult  him.  He  ended  in  this 
high  tone." 

Smucker's  Life  and  Times  of  Thomas  Jefferson,"  p.  213, 
referring  to  Freneau's  newspaper,  says  :  "  The  National  Gazette 
had  been  established  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  its  leading  articles 
continually  and  bitterly  attacked  Washington  and  Hamilton, 
and  their  measures.  In  many  of  these  articles  the  style  of  Jef- 
ferson was  clearly  detected,  and  the  abuse  of  the  President  was 
most  execrable." 

After  Jefferson's  return  to  Monticello,  in  1793,  it  is  certain 
that  his  residence  became  for  several  years  the  headquarters  of 
those  who  were  opposed  to  the  administration  of  Washington. 
Smucker,  p.  219. 

Mr.  Pickering,  says  Callender,  in  1800,  wrote  a  work  called 
"  The  Prospect  Before  Us,^^  in  which  he  writes  of  Washington, 
thns :  By  his  own  account,  therefore,  Mr.  Washington  has  been 
twice  a  traitorP  (The  italics  are  ours.)  "  He  first  renounced 
the  king  of  England,  then,  after,  the  old  confederation."  "  The 
extravagant  popularity  possessed  by  this  citizen  reflects  the 
utmost  ridicule  on  the  discernment  of  the  Americans."  "  He 
approved  of  the  funding  system,  the  assumption,'  the  national 
banks,  and,  in  contradiction  to  his  own  solemn  promise,  he 
authorized  the  robbery  and  ruin  of  the  remnant  of  his  own 
army."  This  work  was  written  and  printed  under  the  contriv- 
ance, patronage,  and  pay  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  wrote  the  two 
following  letters  to  Callender,  which  came  into  Pinckney's  pos- 
session ;  who  says  "  botli  were  in  Jefferson's  handwriting — to 
me  perfectly  well  known." 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Tlionias  Jcfterson  to  Mr.  Callender, 
dated  Monticello,  September,  1799  : 

"  Mr.  Jcfferrf(jn  happens  to  be  liere,  and  directs  his  agent  to 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


51 


call  on  you  with  this,  and  pay  you  $50,  on  acount  of  the  book 
you  are  about  to  publish.  When  it  shall  be  out,  be  so  good  as 
to  send  me  two  or  three  copies,  and  the  rest  only  when  I  shall 
ask  for  them.  With  every  wish  for  your  welfare,  I  am,  with 
great  regard,  your  most  obedient  servant. 

"  Mr.  Callender.  Thomas  Jefferson." 

The  other  letter  is  dated  Monticello,  October  6th,  1799.  The 
first  lines  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Callender  ol 
September  29th,  1799,  and  concludes  with  these  words : 

"  I  thank  you  for  the  proof-sheets  you  enclose  me.  Such 
papers  cannot  fail  to  produce  the  best  effect.  They  inform  the 
thinking  part  of  the  nation,  and  these  again,  supported  by  the 
tax-gatherers  as  their  vouchers,  set  the  people  to  rights.  You 
will  know  from  whom  this  comes  without  a  signature,  the  omis- 
sion of  which  has  been  rendered  almost  habitual  with  me  by  the 
curiosity  of  the  post-officers.  Indeed,  a  period  is  now  approach- 
ing during  which  I  shall  discontinue  writing  letters  as  much  as 
possible,  knowing  that  every  snare  will  be  used  to  get  hold  of 
what  may  be  perverted  in  the  eyes  of  the  public.  Adieu. 

"  Mr.  James  Thompson  Callender,  Eichmond." 

Callender  was  convicted  of  a  libel  by  a  jury  at  Eichmond, 
Ya.,  fined  and  imprisoned,  and  pardoned  by  President  Jefferson. 

The  above  are  extracts  from  a  pamphlet  written  by  Picker- 
ing. My  impression  is,  that  Jefferson  admitted  that  he  ad- 
dressed these  letters  to  Callender,  but  asserted  that  the  money 
was  given  by  him  as  a  charity. 

Hildreth's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  iii. :  "  There 
was,  indeed,  some  disposition  to  throw  the  blame  of  the  late 
disasters  in  Virginia  (during  the  Eevoltttion)  on  Mr.  Jefferson, 
and  a  motion  was  made  in  the  Assembly  for  his  impeachment. 
He  was  charged  with  cowardice.  When  he  was  seeking  popu- 
larity, he  well  knew  that  the  officers  of  the  late  army,  members 
of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  w^ould  be  opposed  to  him." 

In  1786,  Jefferson  wrote  an  article  for  M.  de  Menonier  (Jef- 
ferson's Works,  vol.  i.,  p.  416),  in  which  he  speaks  of  this  So- 
ciety in  strong  terms  of  approbation.  "  This  institution  would 
be  an  instrument  the  more  for  strengthening  the  federal  bond 
and  for  promoting  federal  ideas.  It  was  founded  exclusively  on 
sentiments  of  benevolence  and  friendship,  was  innocent  in  its 
origin,  and  no  less  innocent  "in  its  effects."    This,  he  says,  is  the 


52 


HAMILTON  VINDICATED. 


true  history  of  the  Society.  Afterward,  when  he  was  seeking 
popularity,  well  knowing  that  the  members  of  this  Societ}^ — 
military  men — would  not  give  their  votes  and  influence  to  a  man 
whose  courage  had  been  so  seriously  impeached,  he  endeavored 
to  induce  Washington  to  suppress  it,  and  to  Mr.  Madison  he  de- 
scribed the  Society  as  a  body  "  cowering  over  the  Constitution 
eternally,"  and  "  carving  out  for  itself  hereditar}^  distinctions." 

H.  Lee,  in  his  "  Observations  on  the  AVritings  of  Thomas 
Jefferson,"  p.  34,  says  :  Whereas  the  article  fabricated  for  Mr. 
Madison  was  a  thread  in  that  web  of  misrepresentations  which 
he  was  weaving  round  the  character  of  General  AVashington — a 
web  of  torments — these  torments  were  cruelly  inflicted  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  his  own  claims  before  the  people  with  a 
better  chance  of  success." 

As  to  Jefferson's  character,  John  Adams,  in  a  letter  to  Cun- 
ningham, referring  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  says  :  "  I  wish  him  no  ill." 
"  I  envy  him  not."  /  f^Jiudder  at  the  calamities  wdiich,  I  fear, 
his  conduct  is  preparing  for  his  country,  from  a  mean  thirst  of 
popularity  and  inordinate  ambition  and  want  of  sincerity." 

Jefferson,  in  a  letter  to  Mann  (Jefferson's  Writings,  vol.  v., 
p.  315),  sa3^s :  "  Our  part  of  the  country  is  in  considerable  fer- 
mentation on  what  they  suspect  to  be  a  recent  roguery  of  this 
kind :  they  say,  wdiile  all  hands  were  below  deck  mending  sails, 
a  rogue  of  a  pilot  has  run  them  into  an  enemy's  port.  But, 
metaphor  apart,  tliere  is  much  dissatisfaction  with  Jay's  treaty." 

And  to  Madison  (p.  316)  he  writes  :  "  Thus  it  is  that  Hamil- 
ton, Jay,  &c.,  in  the  boldest  act  they  ever  ventured  to  under- 
mine the  Government,  have  the  address  to  screen  themselves, 
and  to  direct  the  hue  and  cry  against  those  wlio  wished  to  drag 
them  into  light." 

To  Madison  (p  324)  he  writes  :  "  The  whole  mass  of  your 
constituents  have  condemned  this  work  (Jay's  treaty)  in  the  most 
unecpuvocal  terms,  and  are  looking  to  you  as  their  last  hope,  to 
save  them  from  the  effects  of  the  avarice  and  corruption  of  the 
first  against  Jay,  the  revolutionary  machinations  of  others  (Ham- 
ilton and  his  friends),  and  the  incomprehensible  ac(piiesccnce  of 
the  only  lionest  man  (General  Washington),  who  has  assented  to 
it.  I  wish  that  liis  honesty  and  his  political  errors  may  not  fur- 
nish a  second  occasion  to  exclaim,  "  Curse  on  his  virtues ;  they 
have  undone  liis  country  !  "  This  was  Joflerson's  course,  in  1796, 


iia:milton  vindicated. 


53 


Wasliington,  in  a  letter  to  Hamilton,  dated  IGth  May,  1T9G, 
in  relation  to  tlic  farewell  address,  says :  "  It  will  be  iDerceivcd 
from  lience  that  I  am  attached  to  the  quotation.  My  reasons 
for  it  are,  that  it  is  not  only  a  fact  that  such  an  address  was 
written,  and  on  the  point  of  being  published,  but  known  also  to 
one  or  two  of  those  characters  who  are  now  strongest  and  fore- 
most in  the  opposition  to  the  Government,  and  consequently  to 
the  person  administering  it  contrary  to  their  views."  (Hamil- 
ton's Writings,  vol.  vi.,  p.  120.) 

Madison  wrote  that  quoted  part,  and  Jefferson  was  made 
acquainted  with  that  fact.  These  ivere  "  hoo  of  those  charac- 
ters.^ 

Jefferson,  in  his  Ana  (Jefferson's  Writings,  vol.  iv.,  p.  446), 
says :  "  I  returned  from  that  mission  in  December,  1Y89,  and 
proceeded  to  ^s'ew  York,  March  4th,  1790."  -  ^  ^  Ham- 
ilton's financial  system  had  then  passed.  It  had  two  objects : 
1st,  as  a  puzzle,  to  exclude  popular  understanding  and  inquiry  ; 
2d,  as  a  machine  for  the  corruption  of  the  Legislature.  And 
with  grief  and  shame  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  his  machine 
was  not  without  effect ;  and  even  in  this  the  birth  of  our  Gov- 
ernment, some  members  were  found  sordid  enough  to  bend  their 
duty  to  their  interests,  and  to  look  after  personal  rather  than 
public  good."  Page  447,  he  adds  :  ^'  Men  thus  enriched  by  the 
dexterity  of  a  leader,  would  follow,  of  course,  the  chief  who 
was  leading  them  to  fortune,  and  become  the  zealous  instru- 
ments of  all  his  enterprises.  This  game  was  over,  and  another 
one  on  the  carpet  at  the  moment  of  my  arrival."  To  all  this  it 
can  only  be  answered,  that  no  fact  or  circumstance  is  stated  to 
sustain  such  a  charge.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  proved  that,  when 
General  Lee,  and  others,  applied  to  Hamilton  for  information  as 
to  his  financial  schemes,  it  was  promptly  and  jDcrsistently  re- 
fused. 

The  correspondence  with  Henry  Lee,  before  given,  is  a  con- 
clusive answer  to  Jefferson's  charge,  that  Hamilton  had  cor- 
rupted members  of  Congress,  and  others,  by  communicating  to 
them  his  proposed  financial  measures  ;  of  which  charges  Jefier- 
son  does  not  give,  or  attempt  to  give,  any  proof  whatever. 

I  conclude  this  work,  undertaken  in  obedience  to  a  sense  of 
duty  to  my  father,  by  endeavoring  to  show  that  the  author  of 
so  malignant  an  attack  u^-^n  a  man  who  had  rendered  signal 


HAmLTON  VINDICATED. 


service  to  his  country,  was  prompted  by  the  inspirations  of  Mr. 
Jefferson. 

Mr.  Yan  Buren,  p.  421 :  The  measures  of  which  I  have 
spoken  as  the  cherished  policy  of  the  old  Federal  party  and  its 
successors,  taken  as  a  whole,  were  justly  described  by  Jefferson, 
in  his  much- abused  letter  to  Mazzei,  as  a  contrivance  invented 
for  the  pui-pose  of  corruption,  and  for  assimilating  us  in  all  re- 
spects to  the  rotten  as  well  as  the  sound  parts  of  the  British 
Constitution."  During  Mr.  Yan  Buren's  visit  to  Mr.  Jefferson 
in  1824,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  latter  impressed  upon  the 
former  the  opinions  and  purposes  attributed  to  Hamilton. 

James  A.  Hamilton. 

January,  1870. 


